A key proponent of the Polluter Pays Campaign, The Earl of Lytton has put forward an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which is now tabled for debate at the Grand Committee in the House of Lords, from 20 February 2023.
The series of amendments would establish a Building Safety Remediation Scheme and ensure that remediation focuses on individuals responsible for building safety risks arising, be that from non-compliant products or construction practices.
In addition, it would ensure that the leaseholders or occupiers are not liable for any costs and fund the Scheme through a levy on the construction industry as a whole as well as apply to buildings of all heights, not just those over 11 metres tall.
The principle behind the Polluter Pays Campaign is to ensure that those responsible for causing building safety risks in the first place are held accountable for historic malpractice that has made some buildings unsafe. This would apply to new standards going forward, which would help to limit future malpractice as well.
Current UK Government policy does not go far enough to support leaseholder protections which limits leaseholders by the size of buildings and the property that they own. Fundamentally, individuals who are not responsible for making buildings unsafe should not be charged with remediation costs.
Proposals for a Building Safety Remediation Scheme would help lead to greater confidence in the buying and selling of property in high-rise buildings. In order to ensure that impacted property can continue to be bought, sold and rented it is vital that we have a system that holds those directly responsible to account.
