Published July 12, 2018
Landlords of high rise tower blocks in Manchester are ‘overly focused’ with cladding and could be ignoring advice to fit sprinklers and fire safety systems.
That is the view of the Greater Manchester Law Centre who say information is ‘sporadic’ over what action – if any – is being taken to protect residents.
They question whether landlords are acting on the recommendations of the Hackitt Report, and or the subsequent guidance published by Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
Concern
The report, entitled ‘Review of High Rise Safety in Greater Manchester: A year on from Grenfell” express concern about the lack of information being communicated by property owners.
It states: “A review of the information available on tower block safety in GM offers sporadic amounts of data.
“There is little information available about fire safety as a whole from landlords and most are solely focused on cladding, contrary to the recommendations of the Hackitt report.
“Perhaps most unfortunate is that the report stated more work needs to be done to better communication with tenants; the current availability of information suggests this is an area that still needs to be improved by many landlords.”
The report claims landlords focused on combustible ACM (Aluminium Composite Material) cladding following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which claimed 72 lives.
And, of 480 blocks in Greater Manchester tested for ACM only 69 failed cladding tests, according to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
However, the report states there is ‘no clear information’ on efforts to remove the failed cladding from private landlords other than One Manchester, who are noted as providing ‘frequent’ updates.
Cladding
The report insists the focus for landlords is on cladding but reminds property owners that the Hackitt report claimed cladding was only ‘one part of the story.’
The report adds: “The best example of this is the varied commitments of landlords to fitting sprinklers in their high rise blocks. The evidence that sprinkler systems would drastically reduce the risk of fires is compelling.
“Considering the advice e from the reports, the lack of clear progress towards fitting sprinklers is unfortunate. It implies that the landlords in GM have been overly focused on cladding with much less attention to the wider implications of the Hackitt report and advice from GMFRS.”
The report highlights a ‘myriad of shortcomings’ uncovered by Hackitt which include a lack of communication with residents, the self-certification of building works and ‘competency’ of work on high rise blocks.
Complex
It reports on the complex mixture of council, private, housing association and ALMO managed properties in Greater Manchester and highlights the inability of the GMFRS and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to enforce any works or actions.
The have vowed to provide free advice for legal advice to tenants because they fear any legislative changes will effectively remain redundant without legal back-up for residents.
Read The Report
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