Government announces expansion of Cladding Safety Scheme to some buildings under 11 metres

The government has announced new funding to help pay for the remediation of unsafe cladding on some residential buildings under 11 metres in England.

In this expansion of the Cladding Safety Scheme, buildings posing the greatest cladding fire safety risk to residents will be prioritised for support.

Leaseholders in buildings under 11 metres are not covered by existing leaseholder protections and can face costs for addressing building safety problems they did not cause.

The new funding is intended to protect leaseholders from these costs and help make low-rise buildings with the most serious cladding fire safety risks safe.

Homes England will administer the funding with applications open from 17 August to 9 October. Applications must be submitted by the building's responsible entity (or their authorised representative) The Government has published a guide about the funding on GOV.UK.

The announcement forms part of a wider change to the way buildings are prioritised for remediation work.

Rather than focusing mainly on building height, the government will prioritise buildings according to the risk they pose to residents. Buildings with the most serious safety concerns will be addressed first.

The changes follow commitments made in the government’s Remediation Acceleration Plan. The government also plans to introduce a Remediation Bill concerning landlords’ responsibilities for addressing unsafe buildings.

The government has welcomed a Financial Conduct Authority review of insurance premiums for buildings with fire safety risks.

The review will examine how premiums have changed since the FCA introduced new rules in 2023. It will consider:

• how insurers’ pricing approaches have changed over time
• how firms consider leaseholders’ interests when assessing whether their products provide fair value
• how building remediation work is taken into account in insurers’ risk assessments.

Following discussions with resident groups, the government has also confirmed a range of changes to building safety regulation.

These include plans for a Single Construction Regulator, intended to bring together different parts of the building regulation system.

The government has also announced measures to:

• make it simpler for the Building Safety Regulator to issue Building Assessment Certificates
• provide clearer guidance for building owners
• consult on making it easier for emergency work to take place
• publish responses to two consultations covering telecommunications work and helping existing buildings move through the regulatory process more quickly, while maintaining safety standards.