No less than five factors contributed to the Grenfell Tower tragedy last year, according to a new report, which may help inform the drawing up of new and tighter regulations to help ensure buildings - including rented properties - are safer in future.
A leaked Metropolitan Police report carried out by BRE Global found that the refurbishment work, in particular the cladding, failed to meet fire safety rules on a number of counts.
These range from the combustible materials used to the existence of gaps between the cladding that allowed the flames to be funnelled upwards. Had the work - undertaken between 2014 and 2016 - not been botched the fire would not have spread above the 16th floor.
In addition, the report criticised the lack of door closers inside the building, which would have helped curb the spread of smoke and flames. It also said the building should have been fitted with a wet riser main to help firefighting rather than a dry riser, as well as there being more space around the building for fire engines.
All this may lead to prosecutions for fire regulation breaches, as well as new legislation aimed at tightening the rules and giving clearer guidance on safety standards.
However, while the report - assuming the leaks are all accurate - may have increased the likelihood of more comprehensive action at Westminster, not all landlords, or indeed landlord bodies, are convinced any of this will go far enough.
Earlier this month, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said the government's review into building and fire safety rules is a missed opportunity, as its focus is too narrowly fixed on towers like Grenfell and not on the wider housing sector.
In its opening submission to the review, the RLA said: "We are concerned about the Interim Report’s focus on new build and high rise residential buildings, largely to the exclusion of the existing stock of smaller residential accommodation."
The RLA is worried about this because, it argues, in some instances there is no clarity over who holds responsibility for safety in flats and bedsits, with confusing and often contradictory rules.
RLA policy consultant Richard Jones said: “Ever growing volumes of complex and sometimes difficult to understand guidance causes confusion among tenants, landlords, local authorities and the fire services."
No less than five factors contributed to the Grenfell Tower tragedy last year, according to a new report, which may help inform the drawing up of new and tighter regulations to help ensure buildings - including rented properties - are safer in future.
A leaked Metropolitan Police report carried out by BRE Global found that the refurbishment work, in particular the cladding, failed to meet fire safety rules on a number of counts.
These range from the combustible materials used to the existence of gaps between the cladding that allowed the flames to be funnelled upwards. Had the work - undertaken between 2014 and 2016 - not been botched the fire would not have spread above the 16th floor.
In addition, the report criticised the lack of door closers inside the building, which would have helped curb the spread of smoke and flames. It also said the building should have been fitted with a wet riser main to help firefighting rather than a dry riser, as well as there being more space around the building for fire engines.
All this may lead to prosecutions for fire regulation breaches, as well as new legislation aimed at tightening the rules and giving clearer guidance on safety standards.
However, while the report - assuming the leaks are all accurate - may have increased the likelihood of more comprehensive action at Westminster, not all landlords, or indeed landlord bodies, are convinced any of this will go far enough.
Earlier this month, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said the government's review into building and fire safety rules is a missed opportunity, as its focus is too narrowly fixed on towers like Grenfell and not on the wider housing sector.
In its opening submission to the review, the RLA said: "We are concerned about the Interim Report’s focus on new build and high rise residential buildings, largely to the exclusion of the existing stock of smaller residential accommodation."
The RLA is worried about this because, it argues, in some instances there is no clarity over who holds responsibility for safety in flats and bedsits, with confusing and often contradictory rules.
RLA policy consultant Richard Jones said: “Ever growing volumes of complex and sometimes difficult to understand guidance causes confusion among tenants, landlords, local authorities and the fire services."
Sources:
http://www.rman.co.uk/latest-news/article/grenfell-safety-breaches-found-but-will-changes-be-enough
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/grenfell-tower-resident-who-had-gas-cannisters-in-flat-fails-in-anonymity-bid-over-blaze-link-fears/