Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with mortgage lenders that refuse to lend on properties in blocks without an External Wall Survey assessment; and if he will make a statement.

The Building Safety Act confirmed that those at fault, not blameless leaseholders, will be the ones who pay to fix unsafe cladding. This has further removed risk for lenders and will help restore common sense to the market. Following this the largest mortgage lenders confirmed in July 2022 that, subject to their normal policy requirements, they will lend on any property that is part of a developer or government remediation scheme or properties that are protected by the new statutory protections, as evidenced by a qualifying lease certificate. This statement can be found here.

The Government is advancing work with the industry to quickly operationalise these changes and are driving engagement with lenders and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to achieve this.