A company linked to the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower is being excluded from the government’s ‘Help to Buy’ housing scheme, pending the outcome of the Grenfell Inquiry, following concerns of ‘unacceptable’ business practices
The secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced that Rydon Homes Ltd will be blocked from the government housing ‘Help to buy’ scheme with immediate effect.
This means that the company no longer has government support and cannot market their properties to first-time buyers, with the offer of government-backed loans.
This is the latest move by the Housing Secretary to target those with questions to answer in relation to the Grenfell Tower tragedy and help bring justice for all those involved.
Michael Gove has warned the construction industry that there will be consequences for those who are responsible for the building safety crisis and those who are failing to help fix it.
The government’s Grenfell Tower Inquiry is considering serious evidence that Rydon Maintenance Ltd, the lead contractor for the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, participated in unacceptable practises before the tragedy occurred in 2017, in which 72 people lost their lives.
Rydon Maintenance falls under the same parent company as Rydon Homes Ltd and has directors in common.
The secretary of state has also written to the Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee and to Homes England, which oversees Help to Buy, to inform them that it would be against public interest to allow Rydon Homes to sell homes via the government scheme.
‘Extremely concerning evidence’
Secretary of state for Levelling Up, Michael Gove said:” It is in the public interest to exclude Rydon Homes from the Help to Buy scheme with immediate effect given the extremely concerning evidence heard by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry about its sister company.
“The development and construction industry should be in no doubt: I will continue to go after those who put lives at risk, are responsible for the building safety crisis, and are failing to play their part in fixing it. The Grenfell community and innocent leaseholders deserve better”.
