The government has gained industry support for its ban on combustible materials from the Association for Residential Managing Agents (ARMA).

Issued by Secretary of State for Communities, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, the ban ensures combustible materials will not be permitted on the external walls of new buildings over 18 metres containing flats, as well as new hospitals, residential care premises, dormitories in boarding schools and student accommodation over 18 metres.

ARMA has praised Mr Brokenshire for the further support committed to local authorities to carry out emergency work to remove and replace unsafe aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding.

Dr Nigel Glen, Chief Executive Office of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), said: "We congratulate the Government for taking this strong approach to ensure remedial works on affected buildings can get under way immediately. People need to know they are safe and able to live their lives. We have always said time is of essence here and work should be completed first and then worry about who pays later. The costs to cladding removal has given many residents grave anxieties and now some headway should start to be made more quickly.

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"The Secretary of State has said that 'leaseholders must not pay'. We keenly await details of how that will work in practice given the structure of leasehold. For example, in the case of Citiscape in Croydon, the First tier Tribunal Property determined that the leaseholders were liable for the costs under the terms of their lease. That may well be the case across all the buildings under discussion, depending upon their leases. And where Landlords are not the guilty party re installing the cladding is it fair that they will be expected to pay? Clearly there is more work to be done but this is a welcome and significant step."

ARMA has been lobbying for Government intervention ever since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Immediately after the tragic fire, ARMA flagged to Government the problem under leasehold as to who would likely pay for the cost of fire safety remedial works and that this could seriously delay remedial works. ARMA has publicly asked for Government loans to be make available and for remediation to be taken into a national programme to avoid such delays as the safety of residents must always be the uppermost concern.

(CM)