Are you a leaseholder paying out thousands for waking watch patrols? Perhaps you are a tenant, property manager or developer facing having to pay out thousands for waking watch patrols? If you are, then this is a must-read blog post for you. Help is at hand and it comes in the form of government funding.
In January 2021 the Waking Watch Relief Fund was introduced. This was to assist high-rise buildings with dangerous cladding to get fire alarms installed. In turn, the need for spending thousands for waking watch patrols was removed. Meanwhile, residents were still protected by fire safety solutions.
When the original funding was brought in, it wasn’t expected to stretch to all the eligible blocks in need of a fire alarm. In fact, experts predicted that it would cover between 240 and 300 buildings. However, that was still something and would help a lot of residents in buildings like these.
Fast forward 2 years and we have a new pot of funding. £27 million has been added to the previous funding pot. It is now called the waking watch replacement fund. No longer do buildings need to be of a set height to be eligible for the funding. More residential properties are covered which could mean huge savings for those that were paying out thousands for waking watch patrols.
Robert Jenrick MP was Housing Secretary when the initial funding was created. He found that there were over 570 blocks in London alone that were reliant on the waking watch patrols. Each flat owner in these blocks in London was saddled with a cost of over £250 a month. This was to cover the cost of the waking watch patrol.
There was another case in Birmingham that was reported on. Leaseholders of one building which hadn’t passed insurance safety stands were being legally forced to contribute each year. This contribution was towards the waking watch patrol. It came to £9,200 a year. This was before the increased serve charges came into place. Including a rise in the building insurance, the increased service charge rose from £62,000 to £263,000 a year!
If you are paying out thousands for waking watch patrols, call us. Our team will tell you more about the funding available. We can complete a quote for your common fire alarm installation. Our team will then help you complete our waking watch replacement fund application to save you money and increase your safety.
Contact us now to find out more.
