Did we ever get an apology from the Conservatives about the flammable cladding crisis?

Here's my email to the MP candidate Ameet Jogia, sent just before the Elections of 04 July.
I never received a response.

 

Dear Mr. Jogia,

 

I received your leaflet in my mailbox and wanted to express some opinions on some important matters to me and ask you some questions in regards to your bid to represent me.

 

For me, and for many others, especially in London, deep leasehold reform is one of the very important issues not only in this election but for years to come. 

I have had the misfortune to buy a leasehold flat in Colindale (despite having been aware of how backward this feudal system is) in a building that is not co-owned by me but fully owned by an unscrupulous, often on the wrong side of the law individual.

 

The dodgy freeholder, the cladding crisis, the low quality of building construction are issues that concern me deeply. After years of fighting managing agents, freeholders, I am no close to closing this awful chapter of my life. It’s been 7 years and counting. I live in a building that’s been in scaffolding since December 2023, the freeholder declared insolvency, the contractor left the unfinished work 6 weeks ago due to not having been paid. It’s really not a rosy picture. It’s also something that I thought would not be happening in the United Kingdom. So much wrongdoing, so much has gone wrong in these years. That’s why I am convinced that since the root cause is the feudal leasehold system, this system simply has to go.

 

I read both Labour’s and the Conservatives’ manifestos. I’ve written the snippets in a blog of mine - https://abolishleasehold.uk/blog/view/6669ec20487ee9df2536b40b It seems the Conservatives promise very very little about abolishing leasehold, getting a deep reform, getting a democratic system where people can have a say in what’s happening to “their” buildings. Why is that?

 

These days we marked 7 years of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire, where 72 people perished. In a terrible way, the Conservative party has had its ‘bonfire of regulations’ – however in this bonfire many people died! I am not aware if the party every apologized publicly to the nation. In fact, it was during the 14-year ‘reign’ of your party when companies were allowed to put cheaper flammable cladding on buildings (another is the question why companies are allowed to manufacture flammable building insulation materials ?). Since 2017, living in a leasehold flat has been a nightmare not only for me – especially if the building is owned by a fraudulent landlord. It’s a process of constant arguments over bills, section 20 notices, planning permission objections, and whatnot. I was even verbally and physically abused by my landlord. It feels that we – the people, cannot win, Mr. Jogia.

 

The only thing that separates us from the wild west of leasehold is the Building Safety Act. This act provides some measure of civility. It’s a corrective measure. However, the legislator put a lot of the responsibilities around fire protection, cladding replacement etc in the hands of the landlord. Ordinarily, that would be ok. However, it doesn’t account for a malicious landlord, practising maladministration, practically a fraudster, who can declare bankruptcy and leave the building with no solution in sight.

 

I also live under constant thread for 2 extra storeys to be built on top of my top-floor flat. Another piece of bad legislation is the Permitted Development Rights – it allows quick, no-planning permission applications for building modifications. This is not the right way to build the much-sought extra homes. Imagine giving all your life savings for a top-floor ‘penthouse’ apartment only to find out that you have no rights and 2 storeys can be built on top of your home?

 

Mr. Jogia, all this has been happening during the Conservatives rule in the past 14 years. We need radical reform here, which unfortunately I don’t see happening soon. I don’t see it in your manifesto. The “Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024” is not a solution – it is yet another incremental update.

 

I would appreciate your thoughts on these matters.

 

Thank you.