New powers would allow cladding companies to be sued and subject to fines for defective products. The proposed measures are part of a Building Safety Bill following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said it was "time to bring this scandal to an end".

"We cannot allow those who do not take building safety seriously to build homes in the future, and for those not willing to play their part they must face consequences.”

The additions to the bill come after Mr Gove announced last month that no leaseholder living in a building higher than 11m "will ever face any costs" for fixing dangerous cladding.

Under the proposed laws, leaseholders would have up to 30 years to sue builders and product manufacturers for defects in England, but there are plans to extend it UK wide. Currently it is six years.

The courts would also be able to stop developers using "shadowy shell companies", the government said, "which make them difficult to trace or identify who they are run by, so they can avoid taking responsibility for their actions".

Campaigners said the proposals were the "most positive step forward we have yet seen in the building safety crisis” but added "many questions" remained over costs for some leaseholders needing to fix fire safety defects other than cladding.

"The penny seems to have dropped with the government that leaseholders are the innocent party and that the polluters who caused this crisis must be the ones to pay to fix it," End Our Cladding Scandal said.

Questions from campaigners emerged after the government said there would be a cap on the amount leaseholders would pay to fix safety defects other than dangerous cladding on blocks of flats.

The cap will only apply to leaseholders where building owners do not have the resources to pay to fix any defects. Such costs may include fixing other building defects such as missing fire breaks or defective insulation, as well as fire patrols.

The Department for Housing said the cap would be £15,000 for leaseholders in London and £10,000 in the rest of England.

It confirmed developers that own buildings over 11m will still be required to pay the full costs of remedial works, while landlords linked to a developer as well as building owners, who are not linked to the developer but can afford to pay in full, will also be required to put up the money.

It added any money paid out by leaseholders since the Grenfell Tower fire will count towards the cap amount.

Source