The UK’s biggest housebuilders have signed a commitment to fix unsafe buildings they developed or refurbished.
A total of 39 developers, including the country’s 10 largest housebuilders, have agreed to remove unsafe cladding and rectify other fire issues in medium-rise buildings, as well as raise at least £2 billion for remediation costs.
The move will help thousands of leaseholders and tenants living in buildings with unsafe cladding, saving them thousands of pounds after they were previously told they would have to foot the bill themselves.
Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “I am grateful to those developers who have done the right thing by signing this legally binding contract.
“We will be monitoring their progress on remediation very closely, to ensure this work is completed urgently and safely.”
He added that any developers who had not signed the contract without good reason would no longer be able to operate freely in the housing market.
What does the commitment mean?
Developers who have signed the commitment are required to fix all ‘life-critical fire-safety defects’ in every English building that is more than 11m tall in which they had a role in developing or refurbishing.
They must also reimburse the taxpayer if government funds have already paid for remediation work to be carried out.
The money recouped will be used to increase the speed at which other buildings are made safe.
What happens next?
The obligations of developers who have signed the contract start immediately.
Leaseholders in affected buildings will benefit from a common framework of rights and responsibilities, under which their buildings must be fixed without them having to pay.
Developers are required to inform residents in affected buildings how they will meet their commitments.
What happens to developers who don’t sign?
Developers who do not sign the commitment will be prohibited from carrying out major developments or receiving building control approval.
The government plans to introduce regulations to establish a Responsible Actors Scheme, which developers who do not sign the contract will not be able to join.
It is worth noting, however, that a number of the developers who have not yet signed have indicated they expect to do so in the near future.