The government's Response to the Grenfell Phase 2 Report is expected in March 2025 but as we await that response, the publication of the government's Remediation Acceleration Plan has sign-posted that more change and legislation is on the way.
Much of the focus in the Remediation Acceleration Plan relates to the slow pace of remediation with the primary goal of increasing the remediation process for buildings with unsafe cladding. So, for example, a new remediation deadline is set out that by the end of 2029, 18m+ buildings in a government funded scheme will have been remediated, while 11m+ buildings must either have been remediated or have set a date for remediation completion.
Further efforts being made to address building safety concerns are also outlined in the government Remediation Acceleration Plan. These include:
The Building Safety Levy
It is intended that the Building Safety Levy will come into force in the autumn of 2025 and be charged on all new residential buildings in England that require building control approval irrespective of height, subject to exceptions.
The scope of exceptions and the rate of the levy are yet to be confirmed. The response to earlier consultations held under the previous government suggested a number of exclusions, for example affordable homes, NHS hospitals and GP practices and developments under 10 new dwellings. Indications are that these sectors will in fact be excluded from the Levy but we need to await publication of the regulations before we will know all the detail. The Levy is intended to raise around £3.4 billion over the next 10 years to raise funds to remediate building safety defects.
New legal duty to remediate buildings
In addition to the remediation targets referred to above, legislation to create a duty on those responsible for buildings over 11m to take appropriate steps to remove unsafe cladding within clear timescales is promised with "significant financial consequences for inaction" including a new criminal offence for those who ultimately fail to do so.
Registration of residential buildings between 11-18 metres
A new duty to register residential buildings between 11-18 metres in height is proposed. This will close the knowledge gap with 18m+ residential buildings which are already required to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator. There is also a proposal to tighten requirements relating to building assessments to drive action from those responsible to assess their buildings.
Disclosure of beneficial ownership
To tackle the difficulty of identifying which party is ultimately responsible for residential buildings, legislation is to be introduced to give new powers for the secretary of state and regulators to require entities to disclose their beneficial ownership chains.
Joint plan
A new voluntary joint plan worked up between government and developers has been agreed to encourage developers to achieve "stretch" targets in relation to remediation of buildings for which they are responsible. 39 developers (as at 31 January 2025) have signed up to the joint plan. The stretch targets encourage developers to finish assessments on all their in scope buildings by the end July 2025, with interim targets to start or complete remedial work on 80% of their in scope buildings by the end of July 2026, and to start or complete remedial works on all their in scope buildings by the end of July 2027.
Remediation enforcement
Increased funding is to be made available to the Recovery Strategy Unit and local authorities for remediation enforcement against "bad actors" who have failed to remediate unsafe cladding, and metro mayors are to be empowered to work with local authorities to lead on new local remediation plans.
Supporting residents
There are a number of measures announced in the Remediation Action Plan to support residents, including:
- extension of the Waking Watch Replacement Fund until the end of March 2026
- consultation on the ways to restrict amounts that leaseholders are charged when insurance is arranged on their behalf to a fair and transparent insurance fee
Construction Product Manufacturers
The government have confirmed their intention to prevent the "most egregious companies" involved at Grenfell being awarded government contracts. To avoid this eventuality, companies identified will be required to demonstrate "cooperation, corporate renewal and compensation". Guidance around this is expected early this year. There is also a commitment to reform the construction products regulatory regime but further detail is awaited on this.
Review of Buildings Regulations Guidance
The government separately announced a fundamental review of the Approved Documents will be undertaken by the Building Safety Regulator to make the guidance easier to understand and use; to update it regularly to keep up with new technologies and practices; and for it to be more accessible particular for small and medium sized businesses.
Beyond the setting up of a review panel and terms of reference in the early part of 2025 there is little other detail on how this review will take place.
Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)
Separate to the Remediation Acceleration Plan, it is likely that regulations requiring Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) for residents in 18m+ and those between 11-18m buildings will be introduced. A PEEP will entitle residents with mobility and/or sensory impairments who may have difficulty responding to a fire alarm or evacuating a building unaided to a person-centred fire risk assessment to identify appropriate adjustments to aid their evacuation.
Higher-Risk Buildings
And finally, one of the many recommendations from the Phase 2 Grenfell Report was that the definition of a higher-risk building should be reviewed "urgently" to define a higher-risk building not by height but rather by the nature of its use and the likely presence of vulnerable people. It will be interesting to see if this recommendation is taken up when government issues its Response to the Phase 2 Report.
Comment
April 2025 marks three years since the Building Safety Act 2022, one of the biggest changes in the UK construction industry for decades, received Royal Assent. Since then, a raft of secondary legislation and guidance has been published to support the new regime. However, as outlined above further regulation and legislation is to be expected.
We will continue to provide updates but if you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to your usual Taylor Wessing contact or Jonathan Hutt.
