The first study into the devastating toll of the cladding scandal on leaseholders’ mental health has been released.
The University of Sheffield interviewed 32 leaseholders faced with sky-high bills to remove combustible cladding and other fire safety defects found in their flats four years on from the Grenfell tragedy.
Researchers found the threat of financial ruin because of spiralling building safety repair bills is driving the widespread mental harms among cladding victims, outweighing the risk of a fire for many leaseholders.
Some told researchers they have experienced suicidal thoughts because of the financial pressures of five to six-figure repair bills.
Leaseholder Sophie Bichener, 29, said the research is desperately needed. In the 18 months since she discovered her complex had non-ACM cladding, she has not met “a single cladding victim without mental health problems caused by the crisis”.
The first-time buyer, who lives in Vista Tower in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, told i she was formally diagnosed with anxiety in January this year, the first time she has experienced a mental health problem.
The 29-year-old faces a £208,000 repair bill, with the costs nearly totalling the original price of her £230,000 flat. Before the work begins, Ms Bichener is paying £1500 a month on top of her mortgage for waking watch patrols to ensure her complex doesn’t catch fire.
“When you’re working all day in your unsafe flat, you’re constantly surrounded by it. You’re facing bankruptcy, and there’s only so much your friends and family can help,” she said.
“Last January I sought help for my mental health from my GP, something I’ve never had to do before. I couldn’t breathe, I was having panic attacks, I couldn’t eat, and I couldn’t sleep.
“I was formally diagnosed with anxiety, and prescribed anti-anxiety medication.”
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First-time buyer says £208,000 cladding bill is almost as much as she paid for her entire flat
Ms Bichener said she believes the reason for her anxiety is that leaseholders like her are “living under constant pressure and stress”.
“I’ve spent 18 months wondering if I’ll have to claim bankruptcy,” she said. “Added to that, campaigning to get leaseholders justice has become a second job. I spend all of my evenings sorting out cladding campaigns. It puts a strain on everything.”
The report throws into sharp focus the death of 37-year-old Tom Mansell. The young entrepeneur was named as the first suicide victim linked to the UK cladding scandal in October. Mr Mansell owned four high-rise flats, with repairs in one property costing £50,000 alone.
“I’m lucky that I can say that I feel better after getting help, but it’s not just me. I have people messaging me daily about their mental health issues as a direct result of the crisis,” Ms Bichener said.
“The report is so important because it really sheds light on what people are going through right now. The pressure of interim payments, combined with leaseholders being taken to court because they cannot afford service charges is happening now.
“One person has died by suicide because of the pressure of the scandal. If that’s not enough of a message that this is causing unnecessary anxiety, I don’t know what is,” she added.
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Cladding costs could be the next Government U-turn, but we shouldn’t let them off the hook
Earlier this month, new Housing Secretary Michael Gove announced he will put a “pause” on leaseholders paying to remove cladding to make their buildings safe.
While Ms Bichener said the commitment was a “step in the right direction”, she said there’s a long way to go before leaseholders are relieved of the pressure of paying six-figure bills.
“I welcome Michael Gove’s comments that leaseholders shouldn’t have to foot the bill for remedial works, but in reality, they already are,” she said.
The research by the University of Sheffield is featured in a new BBC documentary, Britain’s Dangerous Buildings – Is My Home Safe?, released today.
The study found that the uncertainty over property repairs and finances has had a wide-ranging impact on people from key life events being put on hold to how they feel about themselves and their place in society.
i has contacted the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for comment.
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