Clause 4 - Duty to facilitate building safety: higher-risk buildings

Part of Building Safety Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:00 pm on 16 September 2021.

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Photo of Daisy Cooper Daisy Cooper Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Education), Deputy Leader, Liberal Democrats 3:00, 16 September 2021

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies.

I always welcome the idea of regulators having proactive powers, and it is good to see that the regulator can provide proactive assistance and encouragement, but how can a regulator provide assistance and encouragement to absent freeholders? That point was raised by the National Housing Federation in evidence. An idea that I mooted then was that it might be possible for a regulator to favour pursuing remediation if a freeholder repeatedly fails to respond to requests. Has the Minister reflected on that suggestion, and does he think that the clause, as it stands, would give the regulator enough powers to deal with the situation of absent freeholders in particular?