Building safety
Michael Gove has introduced new laws to ensure that developers are forced to pay to remove cladding, guaranteeing that leaseholders are to be protected from costs.
Proposals by Gove include the ability for the UK Government to block the planning permission and building control sign-off on developments for developers and product manufacturers that do not help fix the cladding scandal. This means that such businesses will be prevented from building and selling new homes.
The UK Government will also be able to apply its new building safety levy to more developments, with scope for higher rates for those who do not participate in finding solutions to help alleviate building safety issues going forwards.
UK Government forces developers to fix cladding crisis plus protects leaseholders
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Michael Gove MP, has today, 10 January, announced an overhaul to the Government’s approach to building safety.
Courts will be empowered to stop developers from using ‘shadowy’ shell companies, therefore improving transparency and ensuring that more companies are taking responsibility for their actions. If passed by Parliament, these amendments to the Building Safety Bill will be brought into law.
Buy-to-Let
In a letter to Gove, Propertymark sought urgent clarification that financial support to fix dangerous cladding will be made equally available to all affected leaseholders, including buy-to-let landlords.
Propertymark’s letting agent members work closely with landlords who are extremely concerned that they face huge financial hardship if they are forced to pay for a scandal, they had no part in causing. Additionally, without the same level of support, we are concerned about the creation of a two-tier approach to remediation and additional levels of complexity to the process.
Building safety funding
An inquiry into building safety funding was launched by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee after Gove announced that property developers should be responsible for the £4 billion cost of cladding removal. It invites opinions on whether the announcement is a signal of enough action being taken and whether the announcement will impact the delivery of affordable housing, as well as what the industry would like to see in the funding arrangement.
The closing date for submissions is 16 February 2022.
It is time to bring this scandal to an end, protect leaseholders and see the industry work together to deliver a solution. These measures will stop building owners passing all costs on to leaseholders and make sure any repairs are proportionate and necessary for their safety.
All industry must play a part, instead of continuing to profit whilst hardworking families struggle.
