ALMOST FOUR years after the tragic Grenfell fire, people living in unsafe flats are still facing extortionate fire safety bills.

MPs voted against a proposal that would have protected leaseholders and tenants in England, by a majority of 69.

Peers from the House of Lords wanted to force the government to pay for necessary repairs, and recover any money spent from developers at a later date.

Ministers claimed that the proposal would not work in practice, and might cause further delays that left buildings unsafe.

Labour MP’s have heavily criticised the decision.

Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East said: “Last night the Conservatives voted against protecting leaseholders – they broke their promise again.

“Four years on from Grenfell, leaseholders should not have to fund dangerous cladding and other first safety defects.

“I voted to protect leaseholders, they are not to blame.”

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Streatham also heavily criticised the opposition party’s decision.

“The Tories have promised to protect leaseholders from cladding costs no less than 17 times,” she wrote.

“Tonight they voted against this in Parliament for the third time. When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

Many Conservative MP’s spoke passionately in support of leaseholders however, who they agreed should not be left footing bills of thousands, that have left some bankrupt.

The tragic Grenfell fire took place on June 14 2017. According to official reports, 72 people died, a number of whom were from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Following the tragedy, the Fire Safety Bill was introduced in March 2020 to improve regulations.

Measures such as waking watches, where people patrol buildings to ensure they are safe can be incredibly costly.

This has led to questions over who should pay. Some claim that developers should. Many agree that leaseholders who unknowingly bought unsafe properties should not.

The government has so far said it will pay more than £5bn to remove unsafe cladding from the tallest buildings.

For those in flats that are not over 18 metres tall, there is an option to access loans of around £50 each month.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is ongoing, and you can watch it here.