Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on the housing market of the guidance note produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on 5 April 2021 entitled Valuation of properties in multi-storey, multi-occupancy residential buildings with cladding.

The Department has been consistently clear that the lending and valuation industries have taken an overly cautious and risk-averse approach to building safety across the sector which has in turn impacted a sub-sector of the housing market. RICS are developing new guidance to support the valuation of properties with cladding, which they intend to consult on shortly, and which will reflect the protections contained within the Building Safety Act.