The Building Safety Bill, which was published today, will give owners of high-rise flats a retrospective right to sue for shoddy building work 15 years after completion.

The extension for homeowners seeking compensation - up from six years - is part of a package of proposals in the long-awaited bill which is being introduced to prevent a repeat of the Grenfell Tower disaster, which killed 72 people in 2017.

Robert Jenrick, housing secretary, said the reform would help leaseholders claim compensation for cladding removal costs. About 700,000 people are thought to be trapped in dangerous flats and three million are in homes they cannot sell unless they pay for “defects” to be made safe.

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