Dangerous Cladding – Questions raised by Remediation Acceleration Plan
The government has published its Remediation Acceleration Plan, and pledges that dangerous cladding will be fixed on all high-rise buildings on Government schemes within the next five years.
The plan sets out that by the end of 2029, all buildings over 18 metres tall – defined as high-rise – with unsafe cladding that are on a Government scheme will have been remediated. Every building over 11 metres tall with unsafe cladding will have been remediated, have a date for completion or landlords will be liable for penalties by the same date.
Sarah Taylor, property dispute resolution partner, Excello Law comments:
“Whilst the intention behind the Remediation Acceleration Plan is commendable, it raises many questions. The Building Safety Act details a complicated and bureaucratic process for remediation but places duties on those who own higher-risk buildings (i.e. those at least 18 metres or 7 storeys high). The Remediation Acceleration Plan sets a 2029 deadline for the remediation of all higher-risk buildings with unsafe cladding. However, it is unclear how this deadline will be enforced, and whether it will give leaseholders certainty that their buildings will be made safe. Some leaseholders do not yet know that they are living in a building with unsafe cladding as not all buildings have been identified.
“We understand that proposals have been drawn up with housing developers as to how work can be accelerated to fix buildings for which they are responsible. We shall wait with interest to see if this is sufficiently comprehensive to ensure that the Remediation Acceleration Plan is carried out effectively and by the proposed deadline. More applications for Remediation Orders may be needed to push developers to remediate their buildings. Regulators, who are to be given robust new powers to enforce remediation, must use these powers to prevent another cladding disaster. For leaseholders who have already been waiting a long time for their buildings to be made safe, a five-year Remediation Acceleration Plan deadline may feel like a lifetime.”
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