More than 29,000 local people are living in homes with Grenfell-style cladding, according to an analysis by the Labour party.
It said 12,110 people in Lambeth and 16,982 people in Southwark are in flats with flammable cladding, almost four years after the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in which 72 people died.
The party said the analysis, part of its “roadmap” policy to safer homes, shows many thousands of homes across the country are likely to be affected by the cladding crisis.
It said at least 209 high-rise buildings in Lambeth and Southwark are still waiting to have dangerous cladding removed, suggesting there are approximately 29,092 people in the two boroughs living in unsafe flats, according to average building occupancy data.
The party said this is likely to be an under-estimate of the actual number affected.
Only a handful of buildings in Lambeth and Southwark have been fixed so far, it said.
Families affected by this crisis cannot sell their homes and have had to endure months of lockdown in unsafe flats.
“As the government has repeatedly delayed any action, many leaseholders have been forced to pay thousands of pounds for 24-hour ‘waking watches’,” the pafty said.
Across London as a whole, there are at least 554 buildings with waking watches, according to data released by the Labour party.
In Parliament Labour leader Keir Starmer called on the government to remove the dangerous cladding by paying for it up-front.
Costs must be recouped through legal action against those responsible for the cladding crisis, he believes, arguing that leaseholders and taxpayers must not be left with the bill for making buildings safe.
Brixton MP Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) said: “The Tories have tried to avoid this crisis for too long.
“Every day that passes puts tens of thousands of people in London at unnecessary risk and leaves them with unfair, catastrophic costs, while their lives are on hold and they face the day to day anxiety of being locked down in dangerous buildings
“This has gone on too long. It is not the fault of leaseholders and they should not be made to cover the costs.
“The government must urgently step in to ensure everyone has a safe, secure place to live.”
One major building in Brixton, Network Homes’ Park Heights on the redeveloped Stockwell Park estate, was found to have the same cladding as Grenfell Tower.
However, this was replaced nearly two years ago.
