A family is facing “financial ruin” and “homelessness” as they await confirmation of enormous bills to sort out dangerous cladding in homes they own. Yogendra Parmar, 50, from Cambridge, is among hundreds of landlords across the country who do not qualify for Government protections in carrying out cladding remediations after the Grenfell Tower disaster.

The horrific tragedy, which killed 72 people six years ago today, exposed the issue of highly dangerous cladding materials in buildings across the country, with thousands of unknowing landlords suddenly aware that their properties could pose a serious threat to life.

Yogendra, who works as a pharmacist and lives in Cambridge with his wife, NHS consultant Shazia, and two children, aged 10 and 13, told Express.co.uk he had purchased three properties in Leeds “in good faith”.

He said he had followed due diligence and trusted in building regulations that they would have been constructed safely.

But after Grenfell, he is now expecting enormous bills to fix the issue – and like hundreds of other landlords, does not qualify for Government protections to fund the remediation due to owning three properties.

He said his family was “potentially facing financial ruin, which will blight our lives, leave us homeless and a burden to the state.”

Housing Secretary Michael Gove told parliament in January that leaseholders should not shoulder the blame or the costs for cladding – but Government protections do not extend to leaseholders who own more than three properties, or whose properties are under 11m.

While nominally designed to protect those most in need of financial support, many landlords are left unable to take on the costs and face financial ruin. The Unqualified Leaseholders Against Discrimination group is campaigning against what they argue are “arbitrary” requirements to receive support.

Yogendra explained that on one of his properties, worth around £200,000, his bills were set to reach around £50,000 – while the other two may hit as much as £100,000 each.

Insurance costs have also shot up for the family from £40,000 to over £300,000 a year, while service costs have also dramatically increased to put heat protectors in to make the buildings safe until works can be done.

Owners in this position are unable to sell or remortgage their properties.

A key frustration isn’t just the enormous costs – it’s how slow it is taking for the work to even begin.

Last month a new survey seen exclusively by the Daily Express laid bare the extent of the issue, with just over one in five (21.4 percent) of owners in blocks classified as dangerous having seen remediation work start.

John Palmiero, 61, alongside his wife Anne, 60, like many other Brits including Yogendra, invested in property as part of his pension planning as an alternative to stocks and shares – but now he has been completely “disillusioned” by the Government’s failure to galvanise developers to start work.

The couple own six homes, five of which are in Holloway, where John grew up.

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He told Express.co.uk: “The Government’s position is that we are a minority. They say, we’ve taken action to ensure that remediation is taking place, that they’re safe. But it’s absolutely not happening.”

John and Anne are facing huge insurance costs as well as legal fees, as exchanges with the developers are now being done through lawyers.

“I feel very, very disappointed,” John said, adding that they were having to live without knowing how much the total costs would be.

He added: “I care about the people who live there. Even though we’re up for all the costs, I want it done because it’s absolutely about safety.”

“We couldn’t sell if we wanted to, and I would never want to hand this mess to my children.”

“I fit into that category of very humble roots, and I worked very, very hard. I bought into the whole concept of homeownership and all that sort of stuff that we all grew up with in the 80s, I did all the right stuff as far as I can see. And I’m now completely disillusioned.”

The Government has committed £5billion to sorting dangerous cladding in homes across the UK.

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Mr Gove recently wrote to cladding shareholders warning of “severe consequences” for manufacturers if they do not bring forward a comprehensive remediation package.

Annonuncing an amendment to the Building Safety Bill last February, Mr Gove said: “It is time to bring this scandal to an end, protect leaseholders and see the industry work together to deliver a solution.

“These measures will stop building owners passing all costs on to leaseholders and make sure any repairs are proportionate and necessary for their safety.

“All industry must play a part, instead of continuing to profit whilst hardworking families struggle.

“We will take action to keep homes safe and to protect existing leaseholders from paying the price for bad development.”

But for landlords like John and Yogendra, they remain unprotected by the Government and with no assurance on if they will be offered support, when the work will take place or confirmation on their costs.

Express.co.uk has contacted the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities for comment.

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