Many flat sales are stalling due to a lack of meaningful progress on unsafe cladding repairs, estate agents have warned.

A new report from the Public Accounts Committee - The Remediation of Dangerous Cladding - revealed that as many as 7,000 buildings still haven’t been identified and work has yet to start on half of the 5,000 buildings already within the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s (MHCLG’s) portfolio.

It says eight years on from the Grenfell fire, residents and taxpayers still face “unacceptable levels of uncertainty and lack of action” in resolving the cladding crisis.

Target remediation dates within MHCLG’s new Remediation Acceleration Plan are unconvincing and the committee doesn’t think the Government is doing enough to effectively tackle landlord reluctance, constrained supply chain and regulatory capacity.

Lack of progress to remediate unsafe cladding

Henry Griffith, of industry group Propertymark, said the report confirmed the lack of progress to remediate unsafe cladding.

“The current situation is untenable and is causing many flat sales to stall,” he explained.

“We welcome many of the recommendations for the Ministry of Housing, including a review of insurance rates, reducing costs for leaseholders and reporting on its efforts to accelerate cladding.

“We hope UK Government ministers urgently consider the recommendations laid out in the report which would be welcomed by our agent members and by leaseholders.”

The report also urges the Government to bring forward, by the end of 2025, detailed proposals about how construction manufacturers should be required to pay a share of the fire safety remediation costs and how this will relieve the pressure on leaseholders and tenants.

In December, the Government gave flat owners in blocks with unsafe cladding an assurance that developers must meet repair deadlines this year.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner told those responsible for building safety fund and cladding safety scheme buildings that works were expected to start by March 31 for buildings above 18 metres, and as soon as possible in 2025 for buildings over 11 metres.

‍