Council to provide fire safety loans

The money will be available to owners of properties similar to a house that burned down in North Finchley in 2023 reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

The shell of a North Finchley house which was destroyed by a fire — A house destroyed by a fire on Moss Hall Grove in North Finchley in June 2023 – (Credit – London Fire Brigade)

Barnet Council has agreed to loan eligible residents up to £30,000 to improve the fire safety of their homes following a blaze that destroyed a property in North Finchley in 2023.

The incident in June 2023 saw a terraced house on Moss Hall Grove burnt down, alongside severe damage to three neighbouring homes.

A recently-published report describes how the fire at a council-owned property spread rapidly across the terrace of four homes “due to the way the properties had been constructed”.

On Friday, 19th June, Naisha Polaine, the council’s executive director of growth, signed off on a new loan and repayment policy for owners of freehold properties in Barnet facing similar fire safety risks.

The decision, published last Thursday (25th June), was made in consultation with the council’s director of finance, Anisa Darr. It follows an “in principle” decision made by the local authority’s cabinet in March 2024 to approve the project.

Following the incident in 2023 the council hired “expert building consultants” Capital to identify properties with a similar construction that could increase fire risks to residents living in council-owned properties.

In total, the consultants found 153 council-owned homes, seven leasehold homes and 426 freehold properties sold by the local authority under the Right to Buy scheme. The homes, built between the 1920s and 1970s, are “believed to be of a similar construction to the homes affected by the fire”.

According to the recent report, the 426 freehold properties “are in terraces interspersed with council owned properties”. As a result, Capital advised the council that remedial works on the council’s homes “cannot be completed without works to the adjacent freehold properties being completed in tandem”.

In response, the local authority has now approved a loan repayment scheme to help private residents carry out the remedial works. It will give eligible freeholder owners the option of taking out loans from the council to carry out the fire safety upgrades.

Residents taking out the loans will have the choice of organising work agreed by the council itself. They will also have the option of borrowing up to £22,250, including administration costs, from the council for remediation works “on the condition that the works are undertaken by Barnet Homes”. All loans will need to be repaid to the council in full, including interest.

The biggest loans, with a maximum value of £30,000, will be reserved for vulnerable residents with “minimal finances” living in homes with “unacceptable level of risk”, as established under the Housing Act 2004. These loans will be considered on a “case-by-case basis” and approved by the local authority’s head of housing and regulatory services.

The council has set aside £1.67m from its 2026/27 general fund budget with the principal aim of facilitating the “up-front costs of these works where the freeholder is eligible and requests a loan”.

In its report the local authority said it “appreciates that the costs to freeholders are potentially significant and unplanned for” and acknowledged that many of these residents are also on low income.

The report states: “The aim is to make the situation more manageable for residents, expedite the completion of these works and enable a more tenure neutral approach to these higher risk properties.”

Local news needs your support

We are proud that we were at the forefront of reporting on the recent local elections. We can’t do this without the support of our readers.

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

ACT NOW!

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.