On 2 December 2024, the government published its plan intended to increase the pace of remediation of buildings with unsafe cladding. This plan coincides with a debate in Parliament on the findings of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s final report.

The policy paper, entitled “Remediation Acceleration Plan”, starts by setting out what it sees as the “barriers” to making buildings safe including: landlord reluctance; constrained regulatory capacity; social housing providers with varying capabilities and access to funding; developer inconsistency and third-party disputes, constrained capacity of skilled professionals; and the resident experience.

The government’s approach to tackle these problems includes delivering 3 core objectives, to fix buildings faster, to identify all buildings with unsafe cladding, and support residents.

For the first time, the government has set targets for making buildings safe. By the end of 2029 it intends that:

• All 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a government-funded scheme will have been remediated.
• 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.

In order to achieve its targets, the government intends to create legal obligations for landlords to remediate, ensuring those who don’t take action face severe penalties. Other proposals include:

• Giving local authorities, fire and rescue authorities, and the Building Safety Regulator new powers to enforce remediation.
• Providing further funding to regulators to crack down on bad actors.
• Working with the social housing sector to announce a long-term strategy by Spring 2025.
• Encouraging/supporting developers to achieve their stretch targets to start or complete remedial works on 80% of the buildings for which they responsible by July 2026 and on 100% of those buildings by July 2027.
• Speeding up government funded schemes.
• Empowering metro mayors to work in partnership with local authorities and regulators to drive remediation through Local Remediation Acceleration Plans.

Other targets include:

• Identifying 11m+ buildings that could need cladding remediation by strengthening assessment requirements and legislating to create a comprehensive building register; and
• protecting residents from costs by further engagement with the building insurance industry to bring down insurance bills, providing waking watch funding, introducing shared ownership protections and ensuring residents are kept informed.

The government expects to publish a further update on the Remediation Acceleration Plan in summer 2025 to report on progress and spending.

Alongside the Remediation Acceleration Plan, the government has published a “Joint Plan to Accelerate Developer-led Remediation and Improve Resident Experience” to accelerate developers’ work to fix buildings they are responsible for. At least 29 developers, covering 95% of the buildings being remediated by developers, have committed to doubling the rate at which they are assessing and fixing unsafe buildings.

Further information can be found here: Remediation Acceleration Plan – GOV.UK.

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This article contains information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not provide legal advice. It is prepared for the general information of our clients and other interested parties. This article should not be relied upon in any specific situation without appropriate legal advice. If you require legal advice on any of the issues raised in this article, please contact one of our specialist construction lawyers.

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