"MPs have rejected a move to give more protections to leaseholders and tenants in England from footing the bill for fire safety work on buildings.They opposed an attempt by peers to force the government to stump up the cash and recover it from developers.Ministers said the proposal was unworkable and would lead to further delays in making buildings safe. Labour said the government had brokenits promises and "it is blameless people who will pay the price"- taken from the bbc. So you scrape the shekles together over years , probably living at home with folks, finally get a deposit, buy a flat with cladding that has passed building regs, only to be told its unsafe and you have to pay for its removal, i have heard some are up to 70k, why oh why aren"t the building company not made to do it at their expense? Couldn"t possibly be that they are all big CONservative donors could it?

No idea Badger, its just that if i bought a flat, and suddenly got a 70k bill to do the unsafe cladding, i would expect the builder to do it free, as it was unsafe and unfit for purpose, i got two flats and am lucky they dont have cladding, but if they did and i got the bill to replace it, i would be fuming!you have to remember most of these blocks are built by big building companies, who arent short of a few shekles, so they should be made to pay in my opinion. Imagine if one of your kids saved up for years, bought a flat, then gets told its unsafe and has to pay 70k to make it safe, and in the meantime must pay for the 24 hour fire guard sleeping in the broom cupboard, what would you think?

And then the builder (who probably bought it in good faith) needs to sue the architect who specified it, the architect sues the cladding supplier, who then sues the manufacturer.

Our entire system of leaseholds and so on is an absolute disgrace. Needs completely reforming from top to bottom.

But this wider issue leads directly back to Grenfall. And our entire political hierarchy are up to their necks in s*** on that one.

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - 1984 - George Orwell.

The issue for the government is that all building work has to pass building regulations and that is a Local Authority responsibility. So, whether you sue the developer who built it, the Architect who designed it, the manufacturer who produced it, or British Standards for approving the product, the Local Authority building control ultimately decides whether the development goes ahead and approves it stage by stage.

No doubt there will be law suits and counter suits flying left right and centre and ultimately the only winners will be the lawyers. The blame should really be shared and the same with regard to the cost of replacements. Everyone with an involvement should carry the can and every professional carries professional indemnity cover so there is no reason why this entire cost cannot be reasonably shared around.

The one group that should not be paying are the owners.

The leasehold system is another matter entirely and is a necessary evil because of the nature of what a freehold is. I agree it should be reformed and much work has already been done on this. Whether they totally resolve the issues is up for debate but I think it is harsh to describe the whole system as a disgrace.

With regard to buying leasehold property too many people take insufficient advice when they buy and few actually read the lease at all believing that they now own their own home and nothing ill can come of it. There was a shocking period around the 70’s, 80s when onerous lease clauses were all the rage and you really have to be careful when you look at these leases for items such as rising ground rents and obscure management companies running the building.

If in doubt get proper advice. If still in doubt buy a freehold rather than leasehold.

Only ever seen the most pertinent question about that cladding asked the once, by the head of a housing association up in Norwich.

Why was the cladding safe one day and then not the next?

The entire issue is around why that cladding received the necessary safety certificate.

Realised something was seriously afoot with the entire issue when they spent so much time trying to attack the Fire Brigade, including raising the issue of 'racism. Pure diversionary tactics. No cladding on Grenfall, no tragedy. Its that simple.

Both sides of the political debate have some serious questions to answer and it is clear both want the issue brushed under the carpet.

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - 1984 - George Orwell.