Building Safety Levy is an Anti-Growth Policy
March 25, 2025
The Government has released its response to the Building Safety Levy (BSL) consultation, confirming the taxation levels it seeks to impose across the development industry.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders, said:
“The Building Safety Levy is anti-growth, anti-SME policy, which will weaken the housebuilding industry and put the Government’s 1.5 million home promise in further jeopardy. It rejects the polluter pays principle, targeting innocent housebuilders, and risking unintended consequences, such as shrinking the size of new build homes.
The industry already knew that the Conservative government had chosen to tax innocent housebuilders while letting guilty parties off the hook. We had hoped that Labour, the Government of growth, would reject such a bad policy that hinders industry growth, but instead it choose proportionate unfairness.”
The BSL will come into force in Autumn 2026 with levy rates charged per square-metre of chargeable floorspace for works on non-previously developed land (PDL) and works on previously developed land. PDL rates are discounted by 50%.
Rates are highest in areas with the most expensive housing and lowest in the least expensive.
Several BSL exemptions will be in place, including for government funded projects and sites of fewer than ten homes.
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight at the NFB and House Builders Association (HBA), commented:
“Small builders came to the Government with a solution that shared remediation costs across all accountable industries, as well as delivered a ‘polluters should pay more’ principle. It is devastating news that a fairer form of unfairness has been rejected.
Our solution would raise funds more quickly, therefore freeing leaseholders of their nightmare. Would not disproportionately target innocent builders and building companies yet to be created. Ensured that SMEs, who train 73% of our apprentices, offer the most secure employment, who were not involved in various industry scandals, and who build the social and affordable housing the Government is basing its reputation on, were not being targeted for the sake of political expedience.”
You May Also Enjoy
How to secure a rented home if you used to pay rent up front
One change that has come into effect under the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) is that landlords may no longer accept more than one month’s rent in advance of a tenancy beginning. Previously, there was no limit to how much rent tenants could pay up front to secure a property, which was particularly helpful in certain…
Read More 
Whoever Leads Britain Next Must Focus on Growth, Housing and Opportunity
Neil Louth – Group Executive Director, LRG and CEO, Acorn Group From my perspective, the question is less about who occupies Number 10 and more about what they do once they get there. Whether it is Sir Keir Starmer continuing in office, Andy Burnham emerging as a future challenger, or someone else entirely, the next…
Read More 
Biggest Shake-up of Home Buying in Decades
Families and first-time buyers set to save time, money, and stress under major changes to the homebuying process – supporting the next generation and those locked out by a slow and unfair system New sales packs to ensure buyers have the information they need upfront, earlier binding agreements, and digital tools will halve the number…
Read More 
More than half of home movers try D.AI.Y
but 38% say it gave them bad advice The latest research from Yopa has found that 57% of home movers have engaged in D.AI.Y, to help maintain, repair and improve their homes, although more than a third have been given advice that later turned out to be incorrect. Yopa surveyed recent homebuyers to understand…
Read More 
Home buying journey is about to become unrecognisable
Claire Van der Zant, CEO of Novus Strategy, comments on the Government’s homebuying reform “The industry has been very vocal in its demands for mandation and this is the most impactful example yet of government intervention that will drive the change everyone has been asking for. What it will mean is the complete reorganisation of…
Read More 
Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75%
The Bank of England has announced its decision to hold the base rate at 3.75%. This decision comes as a result of wider economic uncertainty and inflation (CPI) increasing to 3.3% in March and remaining above the Bank’s 2.0% target. Here are some thoughts from within the property industry. Matt Smith, Rightmove’s mortgage expert…
Read More