New regulation shields leaseholders from cladding costs
The UK Government has set a deadline for the removal of unsafe cladding in England and introduced a new Remediation Bill to ensure that building owners will face legal consequences if they do not rectify life-critical fire safety defects in residential buildings over 11 metres in height by the end of 2031.
This forms part of the Remediation Acceleration Plan, published on 2 December 2024, to accelerate safety works on residential buildings in England.
We encourage managing agents to read our Building Safety fact sheet and Fire Safety FAQs for a summary of current rules and responsibilities.
Central to the success of the UK Government’s remediation plan is the Building Safety Levy, which will come into effect from 1 October 2026. The levy will apply to developers of new residential buildings in England and is expected to raise £3.4 billion over a ten-year period.
We support the levy as a way to shift the cost burden away from leaseholders and onto those responsible for construction defects, which will go some way in addressing the issue of unsaleable homes. However, we will continue to urge the Government to keep the levy revenue target under review to ensure that funding aligns with actual remediation needs.
Court ruling shows support for historic remediation costs
Supporting this new Bill, a major Court of Appeal ruling has confirmed that building owners and developers cannot recover fire safety remediation costs from leaseholders for defects identified before the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force.
The decision relates to two test cases, Hippersley Point in Abbey Wood and East Village Estate in Stratford, where the court upheld earlier Tribunal findings in favour of leaseholders.
These decisions mean that, for historical safety issues revealed after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, leaseholders cannot be charged if the defects stem from failures by developers or building owners.
Funding for buildings under 11 metres
The new fund will support the removal of cladding in lower-rise buildings where a clear life safety risk is present. This is something Propertymark has campaigned for a long time, and we welcome the decision that will provide security for unsafe cladding everywhere. Cases will be considered on an exceptional basis, ensuring that buildings of all heights are given proper attention and resources where needed.
The UK Government will also provide £1 billion to support councils and housing associations to remove unsafe cladding from their housing stock.
Next steps
The draft Remediation Bill will be published shortly, however, the UK Government haven’t confirmed any timelines, we will examine the details closely when available.
We continue to call for full transparency and proper funding for all affected buildings, alongside protections for leaseholders and clarity for sales and letting agents so they can represent their clients.
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