Deadline of 2029 to Fix Dangerous Cladding

A deadline of the end of 2029 has been set for all buildings over 18 metres with unsafe cladding to be remediated failing which uncooperative developers and freeholders will face financial liability and prosecution under a new criminal offence.

The government has been compelled to speed up the process of making homes safe, following complaints by leaseholders, the Building Safety Regulator, the fire service and local authorities, who have experienced difficulties in when trying to untangle the opaque corporate structures of some freeholders of blighted buildings and to enforce access by independent assessors who have faced restraint when trying to carry out inspections or prepare the scope of remedial works.

The government’s plan gives the Building Safety Act 2022 the teeth it previously lacked to properly fulfil its purpose by increasing enforcement powers and the severity of sanction for non-compliance.

Most larger developers have cooperated and at least 29 of them, covering over 95% of the buildings which are remediating themselves, have committed to more than doubling the rate at which they have been assessing and starting to fix unsafe buildings, meaning work on all their buildings will start by summer 2027.

However, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), only 30% of identified buildings in England have been remediated and it is estimated that there are between 4,000 and 7,000 buildings that are above 11 metres d below 18 metres with unsafe cladding in England which have not yet been identified.

Evidently some landlords who are responsible for assessing fire risks in their buildings are falling short and the Remediation Acceleration Plan’s enhanced enforcement capacity against such recalcitrant landlords is anticipated to recover up to £72 million worth of remediation contribution orders for non-compliance.

Remediation Acceleration Plan will also be backed by investment in enforcement, to provide local authorities, fire and rescue authorities, and the Building Safety Regulator with sufficient capacity to tackle hundreds of cases per year.

Nonetheless it remains to be seen whether homeowners will be provided with the certainty they require that their buildings are safe and due to a lack of expertise and capacity, many leaseholders do not yet know that they are living in a building with unsafe cladding.

Thackray Williams has obtained Remediation Orders required to compel recalcitrant freeholders and developers to remediate their buildings, and Remediation Contribution Orders required to cover any shortfall in remediation funding from freeholders and developers and is well placed to advise lessees of flats blighted by unsafe cladding or inadequate fire safety measure.

For further information and to speak to a member of the Real Estate team, please call us on 020 8290 0440.