Propertymark has reiterated its warning that owners and landlords must not be disadvantaged by remediation plans, as the Scottish Parliament is set to consider Stage 1 of the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill.
The Bill was introduced to reduce the risk to life from unsafe cladding on people’s homes and gives powers to Scottish Ministers to assess and remediate certain types of buildings with unsafe cladding.
Scottish Ministers will need to record these assessments and any remediation works completed in a register.
The Bill also allows Scottish Ministers to create a responsible developers scheme.
The Stage 1 debate will take place today, 12th March 2024.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “It is important that the Cladding Assurance Register is freely and easily available.
“The risk of not doing so is that the Register will fail to motivate building owners to remediate properties, especially where the cost of works is high.
“Ensuring that the Register is freely and easily available also allows residents to play a role in enforcement, further motivating building owners to remediate properties and avoiding situations where local authorities do not have the capacity to investigate compliance.”
He added: “Furthermore, evacuation plans must include alternative accommodation because securing temporary accommodation is likely to be a significant challenge for both homeowners and renters due to the lack of rental stock.
“The current proposal for 14 days’ notice is insufficient and it should be extended to 28 days with the added requirement for a provisional date that they will be able to move back into their home.
“If local authorities are given responsibility for carrying out assessment and registrations the Bill must address capacity, especially in the short-term where there is likely to be high demand and a low supply of qualified assessors.
“Additionally, any landlord in an affected building must be compensated for loss of rent, and that discussions take place with insurance providers to iron out any potential issues before the Bill becomes law.”
