Draconian laws unveiled to force industry to pay for building safety

Aaron Morby 3 years ago
Share

Tough new measures to force industry to pay to remove cladding and protect leaseholders from exorbitant costs have been unveiled by levelling up minister Michael Gove.

Gove sets out plan to amend Building Safety Bill with tough measures for developer failing to remediate unsafe buildings
Gove sets out plan to amend Building Safety Bill with tough measures for developer failing to remediate unsafe buildings

A raft of fresh amendments proposed to the Building Safety Bill would give government power to block planning permission and building control sign-off on developments, effectively preventing developers from building and selling new homes.

The proposals will give legal force to plans to make the industry pay to fix historical problems, while also enforcing a common-sense approach to avoid unnecessary work.

Gove said progress was being made in ongoing discussions with industry leaders, who he said agreed that leaseholders should not pay cladding removal costs.

But he warned that he was ready to act and if firms did not act responsibly, they would face commercial and financial consequences.

The government will also be able to apply its new £4bn building safety levy to more developments, with scope for higher rates for those who do not participate in finding a workable solution.

Alongside further leaseholder legal protections, courts will also be given extra powers to stop developers using shadowy shell companies, which make them difficult to trace or identify who they are run by, so they can avoid taking responsibility for their actions.

If passed by Parliament, these amendments to the Building Safety Bill will be brought into law.

Gove said: “It is time to bring this scandal to an end, protect leaseholders and see the industry work together to deliver a solution.

“We cannot allow those who do not take building safety seriously to build homes in the future, and for those not willing to play their part they must face consequences.”

Cost Contribution Orders will be able to be placed on manufacturers who have been successfully prosecuted under construction products regulations.

These orders will require them to pay their fair share on buildings requiring remediation.

Amendments to the Building Safety Bill, revealed today, will also allow building owners and landlords to take legal action against manufacturers who used defective products on a home that has since been found unfit for habitation.

The power will stretch back 30 years and allow recovery where costs have already been paid out.

The provisions announced today will also go further than the package outlined last month by protecting leaseholders on non-cladding costs.

Under the plans, developers that still own a building over 11m that they built or refurbished – or landlords linked to an original developer – will be required to pay in full to fix historic building safety issues in their property.

Building owners who are not linked to the developer but can afford to pay in full will also be required to put up the money to do so.

In the small number of cases where building owners do not have the resources to pay, leaseholders will be protected by a cap. The cap will be set at similar levels to ‘Florrie’s Law’ which applies to some repairs to social housing: £10,000 for homes outside London and £15,000 for homes in the capital. This will limit how much leaseholders in this scenario can be asked to pay for non-cladding costs, including waking watch charges.

Any costs paid out by leaseholders over the past 5 years will count towards the cap, meaning some leaseholders will pay nothing more.

The proposed government amendments will be debated in the House of Lords during the Committee Stage of the Building Safety Bill which begins on Monday 21 February.

 

Latest news

Kier wins first phase of £700m Warwick Uni campus build

Firm to start work on science and engineering precinct last this year
9 hours ago

Torsion and Khalbros to build new Leeds £1bn neighbourhood

Eastgate Quarter site acquired from Hammerson
9 hours ago

JCB to double size of US factory in wake of Trump tariffs

$500m Texas factory under construction to expand to 1m sq ft
10 hours ago

Green light for £2.4bn Luton Airport expansion

Government go-ahead to transform airport
10 hours ago

Diversification pays off for concrete frame specialist Statom

Strong results as £180m turnover firm expands into infrastructure sector
12 hours ago

Cardo in talks to buy Breyer roofing arm

More than 100 jobs could be saved at Breyer Roofing
17 hours ago

Quartet win £750m Wales & Western railway deal

Network Rail confirms partners for Reactive and Minor Works framework
17 hours ago

Plans in for £350m London Bridge life sciences hub

Snowsfields Quarter will consist of three buildings containing labs
18 hours ago

Surging labour costs push tender price forecast up

Pick-up in tender prices despite weak growth
18 hours ago

Permasteelisa wins cladding deal on Multiplex city tower

Facade specialist wins work on Fenchurch Street ‘hanging gardens’ tower
17 hours ago

Wates wins fit-out for Manchester First Street Hub

Smartspace arm secures another Government hub deal
2 days ago

Peel Ports reveals winners for £750m framework

18 firms win places on deal: Full list
2 days ago

Big trade names dropped in M Group rebrand

Acquisitive group formed from Morrison Utility services in 2016
2 days ago

Breyer Group files administration notice

Staff hope rival firm could buy assets and save jobs
2 days ago

Former Severfield director takes helm at Embrace Steel

New CEO Martin Kelly aims to step up expansion of steelwork contractor
2 days ago

£302m upgrade funding awarded to FE colleges – list

Cash shared out between England’s 179 college groups
2 days ago

FK Facades thrives but construction arm hit by ISG row

Dispute with failed contractor costs specialist £5.5m
2 days ago

Galliford Try gets go-ahead for Milton Keynes PRS tower

33-storey tower needs gateway 2 approval before work can start
2 days ago

Small house builders get £150m funding for green homes

Developers will have to meet-up to ten new criteria to benefit from interest rate discounts
2 days ago

Lendlease Construction renamed Bovis

US private equity firm completes £35m purchase of UK contracting business and rebrands
3 days ago

Breyer Group battles for survival as rivals circle

Housing maintenance firm fights three winding up petitions in a month
3 days ago

Careys facing £2.4m claim by developer over demolition cartel

Giant Hong Kong developer claims it was overcharged on Lots Road Power Station job
3 days ago

Multiplex profit drops a third as revenue rises to £780m

Spate of new orders sets contractor up for three years of work
3 days ago

Galliford Try and Breheny land latest Sizewell C road deals

More infrastructure deals for new nuclear power station
3 days ago

Worker trapped in collapsed septic tank pit

Contractor and director fined after worker suffers multiple fractures
3 days ago

Homes England buys stalled Broad Marsh site

Demolition to finally be completed as developer hunt begins
3 days ago

Vistry go-ahead for 353 homes at Rochester Riverside

Work to start on next phase of Kent town regeneration at end of this year
4 days ago

M&E firm J S Wright collapsed owing £19m

Trade creditors hit for £11.4m by employee-owned Midlands firm
4 days ago

Right to work checks to be extended to self-employed

Government plans crackdown on illegal working and rogue employers
4 days ago

Midlands developer turns to London with £1bn resi schemes trio

SevenCapital plans 1,000 flats in Kensington, Islington and the Isle of Dogs projects
4 days ago

Contractor services