Leaseholders hit by the cladding crisis and facing unaffordable bills to fix fire-risked buildings say they are cautiously optimistic after a government announcement today.

Housing secretary Michael Gove said the government would be "absolutely willing" to use legal powers forcing developers to stump up costs.

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster four years ago, buildings with unsafe cladding and fire-proofing issues have been condemned with Kent residents unable to sell or remortgage their properties.

As leaseholders, they have been hit with the costs despite not owning the fabric of the buildings in which they live.

The Fire Safety Bill became law last April meaning leaseholders are liable but with costs running into tens of thousands the government has now tried to step in.

Mr Gove has written to builders giving them a deadline of March to come up with a plan to protect leaseholders trapped in the unsellable properties.

Chatham resident Georgina Revell, who last year said she and neighbours living in The Wharf building at Chatham Dockside are "totally stuffed" by the rules in place, reacted to the news today.

She said: "We are cautiously optimistic but we don’t know how the construction firms are going to react and of course it will have to be enshrined in law so there is a way to go yet.

"It needs to be sorted.

"Living with it 24-hours a day, year-in-year-out, it really wears you down - like living under a big black cloud.

"It's been in the background all of the time, and no one has that sort of money to throw around."

Meanwhile, Tom, a leaseholder in Sidcup, said: "People have been having to deal with crippling uncertainty and anxiety over this issue - it's all-consuming.

"There are people in Kent and across the country who have already gone bankrupt because of this, and there will be many more to follow unless the government very quickly follows through these welcome words today with action quickly."

Lenders have said they will not mortgage properties meaning the properties are totally worthless until they are brought up to new standards following the disaster at Grenfell which killed 72 people.

But developers argue because the homes were built and met building regulations at the time, they should not have to pay for the replacement.

So far, residents living in buildings between 11 and 18 metres tall have been ineligible for government funding support.

"It is neither fair nor decent that innocent leaseholders, many of whom have worked hard and made sacrifices to get a foot on the housing ladder, should be landed with bills they cannot afford to fix problems they did not cause," Mr Gove said in a letter to developers in England and Wales.

"For too many of the people living in properties your industry has built in recent years, their home has become a source of misery."

Speaking in the House of Commons, he added: "It is clear the building's safety system remains broken (after Grenfell).

"We need to take a proportionate approach in building assessments overall.

"There are too many buildings today declared unsafe and too many seeking to profit from the current crisis.

"Leaseholders are shouldering a desperately unfair burden. They're blameless and it's morally wrong they should be the ones asked to pay the price.

"I'm clear who should pay the price for remedying failures – it should be the industry who profited as they caused the problem and those who continue to profit as they make it worse.

"We will take action on all these fronts."

Addressing the high-rise buildings at greatest risk, Mr Gove said the government would be opening up funding set aside earlier than planned this year.

However, no new funding support has been promised for other fire safety related issues – such as defective fire doors, internal compartmentation, wooden balconies or other construction defects.

The government is now promising to recoup £4 billion from developers for residents in buildings between 11m and 18m to fix dangerous cladding.

The Fire Brigades Union says the announcement from the government still leaves leaseholders “desperately short of where they need to be”.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “This is a result of determined campaigning by leaseholders and tenants. It shows that the government can be pressured into progress, and we commend the efforts of campaigners.

“We have always been clear here – residents should not carry any cost for failure they did not cause. Developers, suppliers and buildings owners are responsible, and they should pay.

“However, this announcement does leave us with cause for concern. This change does not cover all fire safety failings in buildings of this height.

"Over four years after Grenfell, this means that residents are left desperately short of where they need to be.

“Government failures allowed this to happen - they cannot shirk their responsibility.

“The FBU stands in solidarity with all victims of the building safety crisis.”