10th January 2022
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove MP, has written to developers to warn them that they must pay to fix cladding defects in 11-18 metre residential leasehold buildings.
In a public letter released today, Mr Gove presented the industry with a deadline of early March to agree to a fully funded plan of action.
In the letter, the Secretary of State asks companies to agree to:
- make financial contributions to a dedicated fund to cover the full outstanding cost to remediate unsafe cladding on 11-18 metre buildings, currently estimated to be £4 billion
- fund and undertake all necessary remediation of buildings over 11 metres that they have played a role in developing
- provide comprehensive information on all buildings over 11 metres which have historic safety defects and which they have played a part in constructing in the last 30 years
Mr Gove also states that:
“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.
“Government has accepted its share of responsibility and made significant financial provision through its ACM remediation programme and the Building Safety Fund. Some developers have already done the right thing and funded remedial works and I commend them for those actions.
“But too many others have failed to live up to their responsibilities.”
The letter issued a warning to developers that the government will take all steps necessary to make this happen, including restricting access to government funding and future procurements, the use of planning powers and the pursuit of companies through the courts if they do not comply. Mr Gove also added that if industry fails to take responsibility for remediation, the government will if necessary impose a solution in law.
The government is still set to announce a decision on which companies are in scope for funding contributions, but it is expected to cover all firms with annual profits from housebuilding at or above £10 million.
Later today, the Secretary of State is also due to make an oral statement to the House of Commons announcing plans to protect leaseholders, who are trapped in unsellable homes and face excessive bills to fix dangerous cladding defects. In respect of this, Mr Gove is set to unveil a package of measures to end the situation of buildings being declared unsafe when they are not.
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