Living through the building safety crisis
Published: 21 March 2022
Policy briefing, Research insight
Policy briefings and research related to the impacts of the building safety crisis - or 'cladding scandal - on the mental wellbeing of leaseholders and priorities for action.
Research report
This report discusses the mental wellbeing impacts of the building safety crisis – or 'cladding scandal' – on leaseholders, drawing on in-depth interviews. It outlines the spectrum of wellbeing harms that were experienced by those living through the crisis and the different drivers of harms.
The building safety crisis refers to problems identified in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, particularly relating to flammable cladding and insulation, missing or inadequate fire breaks, compartmentation and fire doors, and flammable materials on balconies. This has been an area of significant policy evolution, with changing advice and guidance, however the current outcome is that many leaseholders living in affected buildings are unable to sell their homes until external wall systems can be assessed, risks identified, and remediation works carried out.Remedying these building safety problems comes at a significant cost. Whilst Government funding exists for some building types, eligibility is limited, many buildings have no recourse to funding, and not all types of work are covered by the fund.
As well as the report, a video outlines priorities for Government to address these issues.
Get the report and video on the CACHE website
Policy briefings
This research found that leaseholders experienced widespread and significant mental harms. There were a number of different drivers of these harms, from fears about the safety of the building, to financial stress and loss of control over key life decisions. Achieving certainty over the protection of leaseholders from paying for remediation works, through legislative guarantees, is a key way in which negative wellbeing impacts can be reduced.
Three policy briefings highlight some of the wider effects of the building safety crisis on leaseholders in all types of buildings, and their wider family and friendship networks.
They underscore the need for equitable, guaranteed protection from costs of remediation works, a risk-based approach to remediation, and extended Government support to ensure that – where required – buildings are remediated so that leaseholders can move on with their lives.
Get the policy briefings on the CACHE website
First published: 21 March 2022