Government targets end of 2029 for completion of remediation of high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding

The Government is to set target dates for unsafe buildings in England to be fixed as part of a new Remediation Acceleration Plan to be unveiled today (2 December).

Under the proposed measures, all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a government-funded scheme will be remediated by the end of 2019.

By that time every 11m+ building with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated, have a date for completion, or the landlords will be liable for severe penalties, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said.

The Ministry added that the plan would be supported by investment in enforcement – “so that local authorities, fire and rescue authorities and the Building Safety Regulator have the capability to undertake hundreds of cases per year”.

The Remediation Acceleration Plan is intended to speed up the process of making homes safe by focusing on three key objectives:   

• Fix buildings faster: expedite remediation of high-risk buildings with clear deadlines and penalties for non-compliance.   
• Identify all unsafe buildings: identify all buildings with unsafe cladding through advanced data assessments and the creation of a comprehensive building register.   
• Support residents: protect residents from the financial burdens of remediation and improve their experience throughout the process.   

At least 29 developers, covering more than 95% of the buildings which developers are remediating themselves, have committed to more than doubling the rate at which they have been assessing and starting to fix unsafe buildings, the Ministry said.

The Government will also commit to bringing forward a long-term social housing remediation strategy in Spring 2025. 

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “More than seven years on from the Grenfell tragedy, thousands of people have been left living in homes across this country with dangerous cladding.

“The pace of remediation has been far too slow for far too long. We are taking decisive action to right this wrong and make homes safe.

“Our Remediation Acceleration Plan will ensure those responsible for making buildings safe deliver the change residents need and deserve.”

Cllr Heather Kidd, Chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “Councils are committed to keeping tenants and residents safe, and are keen to work with Government to drive the pace of remediation.

“However, for local government to carry out enforcement and addressing cladding issues as effectively and quickly as possible, multi-year funding arrangements are needed.

“Councils are keen to remediate the buildings they own that have dangerous cladding, but they need access to the necessary funding to do so on the same basis they had to remediate ACM cladding.”

Cllr Grace Williams, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing & Regeneration, said: “Like the government, we want to see faster action in removing unsafe cladding and ensuring that all residents are safe – and feel safe – in their homes.

“This is a particular concern in London, where we have 67% of all the UK’s high-rise residential buildings. Although good progress has been made in removing unsafe cladding from council-owned blocks and taking action against the owners of private buildings, there remain immense challenges and much more work to do.

“Boroughs’ lack of resources are a critical factor holding back the enforcement and remediation we all want to see. We welcome the government’s commitment to investing in enforcement and look forward to seeing more details on this.”

Harry Rodd