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A lot of the cheap blocks of government made apartments in the UK are now being torn down. Without regular maintenance and updating, cheap housing can quickly become ugly ghettos. It isn't enough to just build houses. They need to be initially desirable and continually maintained to remain desirable.



Ya I don't want it to be cheap, rather super solid and built for 100 years, but run on that type of time frame. I have some friends who build for universities and that is how they think when they build a project versus a cheap throw up that is barely expected to last 20 years.


Even if they are built, the entire insurance system post-Grenfell is causing absolutely insane service charges for residents.

Mine are up >50% since 2018, that’s despite gaining no new services and work on the building being put on hold due to it not being essential. The fact that it’s a relatively new build (about 12 years old) is almost irrelevant as construction is shoddy.

Putting new buildings up is only part of the problem, the entire system is fucked.


Double whammy: spray foam attic insulation (aided by goverment grants!) causing sale & mortgage problems.

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-improvi...


We had our cladding replaced but now our fire safety certificate is invalid.

The replacement was done so poorly that panels come loose and we have to request the building management company sort it out.


> Even if they are built, the entire insurance system post-Grenfell is causing absolutely insane service charges for residents.

If it's building insurance hikes, for fucks sake it should not be allowed to roll these over to the renters - they have had zero say in shoddy construction, the developers should be the ones held liable.


They should, but they’re not and the government appears unwilling to do anything about it.

Hell, my building recently lost it’s fire safety certificate because one guy decided to scam the system which has caused a ton of knock-on impact for owners looking to move out.


Not allowed to roll over to renters? What does that mean? How would it work? Money is fungible.

Why should the owner of a unit be expected to absorb the cost? It isn't like they chose the cladding.

People obviously do go after the developers but it isn't like they are picking and choosing from materials lists during construction either.


Renters in this case probably means leaseholders. Under leasehold, the owner of the unit is effectively a renter.




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