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
Three major cities buck commuter belt trend
The latest research from Property DriveBuy has found that house price growth across Britain’s major cities continues to lag behind their surrounding commuter belts in most cases, although three major cities are now bucking this wider trend by delivering stronger and more consistent rates of growth, whilst London is the only city to see a…
Read More 
One feature that can see homebuyers bag a bargain
The latest research from eXp UK reveals that low EPC-rated homes present a potential bargain for homebuyers, as house price savings of up to £54,000 far outweigh the cost of remediation. eXp UK has analysed average house price data for properties currently on the market in England with an EPC rating of E or worse*,…
Read More 
Property expert reveals six easily avoidable house-buying errors
Viewing a potential new home is exciting, but many buyers and renters get caught up in the decor and the layout and ignore some potential red flags that may mean they’ll regret their choice a few months down the line. Property expert, Jamie Williams, from Pure Property Finance, discusses five things you need to consider,…
Read More 
Renovating Rental Properties: How to Reduce Costs, Attract the Best Tenants, and Increase Profits Without Unnecessary Investment
Renovation is where many landlords either make or lose their competitive advantage. Spend too little and the property sits empty or attracts unreliable tenants. Spend without strategy and you eat into years of projected profit on upgrades tenants never notice. The sweet spot lies in understanding what drives tenant decision-making and directing every pound toward…
Read More 
Are landlord repossessions set to spike ahead of RRA?
Calm before the storm? Landlord repossessions fell in 2025, but they could now spike ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act New analysis from Inventory Base reveals that the number of landlord possessions fell by almost -8% in 2025, but does the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act mean that numbers are set to spike in…
Read More 
Breaking Property News 23/2/26
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. RO sees large ROI with CRE atford site sale Sale of 56 Clarendon Road Watford by RO Group to Strides Pharma UK RO Group is pleased to announce the successful sale of 56 Clarendon Road, Watford to Strides Pharma UK, the UK arm of global pharmaceutical…
Read More