With the official inquiry continuing, no legal action has yet started against parties that caused 72 people to die in the Grenfell Tower fire. But housing secretary Michael Gove has decide not to withhold penalties any longer.
Rydon Maintenance was the lead contractor of the 2017 Grenfell Tower refurbishment, which installed a cladding system that served to accelerate the fire to such deadly effect.
For this reason, Rydon Homes has now been blocked from the government’s Help to Buy scheme. It can no longer access government support and cannot sell its properties to first time buyers with the offer of government-backed loans.
Michael Gove said that this should be interpreted as a warning to the construction industry: he is going after those responsible for the building safety crisis
There will be consequences for those who are responsible for the crisis and those who are failing to help fix it, he said.
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.”
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