Target Dates Set for Fixing Dangerous Cladding
11/12/24
Plans to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding, including target dates for making buildings safe and tougher penalties for refusing to act, have been announced by ministers.
Under the plans, buildings higher than 18 metres - defined as high-rise - with dangerous cladding covered by government-funded schemes, external will be fixed by the end of 2029.
By the same date, unsafe cladding in buildings over 11 metres should either be fixed or have a date for completion, otherwise landlords will face penalties.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said she was taking "decisive action" but campaigners said the proposals were "extremely disappointing" and would "only make a horribly complicated process worse".
The drive to remove certain types of cladding from buildings was triggered by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people.
An inquiry into the tragedy found that the building's cladding, made from combustible material, was the "principal" reason for the fire's rapid spread.
In the years since the fire, there have been efforts to remove similar materials from other tower blocks.
But seven years on from the fire only a third of tower blocks have been fixed and around half a million people are still living in mid and high-rise flats with unsafe cladding.
The lengthy process of identifying what work needs to be done and who should pay for it has left many residents living in fear of fires or with worries over costly repair bills.
The housing department had previously estimated that works in buildings over 11 metres in England would be completed by 2035.
However, earlier this year the UK's spending watchdog, the National Audit Office warned that this target would be missed unless the process was speeded up.
It also estimated that up to 60 per cent of buildings with dangerous cladding had still not been identified.
The government has now produced a remediation acceleration plan which it says will "get buildings fixed quicker, ensure rogue freeholders are held to account, and put the end in sight for affected residents".
The government says the new deadlines it has set, requiring action by 2029, will be backed by investment in enforcement.
It also says 29 developers, covering 95 per cent of the buildings being fixed, have committed to "more than doubling the rate at which they have been assessing and starting to fix unsafe buildings".
Housing Minister Alex Norris said developers could face fines or even criminal sanctions if the deadlines are not met.
"We will use whatever options it takes - we are drawing a line in the sand," he said.
The housing department has estimated that fixing unsafe cladding on all residential buildings over 11 metres in England will cost between £12.6bn and £22.4bn.
The government has committed to contributing £5.1bn to the total bill, with the rest being funded by developers, private owners or social housing providers.