Landlords and leaseholders with apartments within at-risk cladded tower blocks can benefit from a new £30 million fund, the government has announced.
The Waking Watch Relief Fund, which opened in January 2021, is to pay for the installation of fire alarm systems in high-rise buildings with cladding. The intention is to help reduce or remove the need for round-the-clock fire-check sweeps of buildings, known as ‘waking watches’.
Although introduced as a temporary measure by the National Fire Chiefs Council to keep residents safe, hundreds of at-risk tower blocks across the UK still have 24-hour safety patrols.
Robert Jenrick, Housing Secretary, said that the Waking Watch Relief Fun will “help relieve financial pressure on residents”.
As reported recently by the BBC, these 24/7 patrols cost flat owners on average £137 a month – a price that many simply can’t afford. In one tower block in Bromley, south-east London, flat owners have paid on average £300 a month for the past three years – which equates to £500,000 for the entire block.1
Building Safety Minister Lord Greenhalgh said, [These measures] build on our commitment, which will be enshrined in law through our Building Safety Bill, to improve the safety of buildings across the country,”
Landlords and leaseholders in eligible towers can utilise the fund to pay for fire alarm systems to be installed. If that includes you, IQ Fire would be happy to discuss your requirements and safeguard your home with a fire alarm system, as we did recently for Gainsborough Studios in Islington.
Get in touch on 020 8500 9885.
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