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The UK government has announced plans to expedite the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings, including tougher penalties for landlords who refuse to act. The proposals stipulate that by the end of 2029, high-rise buildings higher than 18 metres, underpinned by government-funded schemes and installed with hazardous cladding, will be fixed. Also, unsafe cladding in buildings over 11 metres should either be fixed or have a completion date by the same year. If landlords do not comply, they will face penalties.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner described the actions as “decisive,” while critics slammed the proposal as “extremely disappointing” and creating an even more complicated process for leaseholders. The decision was triggered by the 2017 incident involving Grenfell Tower in which 72 people died, and an investigation laid the blame on the building’s cladding made of combustible substances.
Meanwhile, only one-third of tower blocks have fixed the issue since the fire, leaving roughly half a million members of the public residing in mid and high-rise flats affected by dangerous cladding. The housing department had predicted that repairs for structures higher than 11 metres would be completed by 2035. However, the National Audit Office warned the deadline would be missed unless the process was expedited.
Accordingly, the government has drafted a remediation acceleration plan that aims to “put an end in sight for affected residents” by accelerating the repairs process and holding unscrupulous landlords accountable. Developers covering 95% of unsafe buildings have agreed to fast-track the resolution of the issue, and the government will invest in enforcement. If developers fail to comply with deadlines, they could be hit with fines or even criminal sanctions. Estimated to cost between £12.6bn and £22.4bn, the government has pledged to contribute £5.1bn, with private owners, developers, and social housing providers providing the balance of the funds
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