All high-rise buildings with dangerous cladding will be remediated by the end of 2029, the government has pledged.
The government has also announced “severe penalties” for landlords who do not remediate medium-rise buildings.
In a statement released today (2 December), the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said its Remediation Acceleration Plan will “get buildings fixed quicker, ensure rogue freeholders are held to account, and put the end in sight for affected residents”.
But campaigners from End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS) called the plan “extremely disappointing” and “performative”, warning there was “far too much uncertainty” and that more needed to be done to help leaseholders living in dangerous buildings.
The government pledged an undefined “investment in enforcement”, which it said would allow the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), local authorities and fire and rescue services to tackle hundreds of cases per year.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said the pace of remediation had been “far too slow for far too long”.
“Our Remediation Acceleration Plan will ensure those responsible for making buildings safe deliver the change residents need and deserve,” she added.
High-rise buildings are those deemed at highest risk as they are at least 18 metres tall, while medium rise are at least 11 metres in height.
In a letter to all firms that have not finished remediating cladding on high-rise buildings, Rayner said she would “take all necessary action” if they do not start the work by 31 March 2025.
That could include “direct action” by the government’s Recovery Strategy Unit (RSU), which gives MHCLG the ability to pursue owners of buildings who refuse to fix defects.
“Let me be clear, you are responsible for the safety of this building and only consistent and urgent effort to remove flammable cladding is acceptable,” she said.
The RSU first took legal action against a firm for delaying remediation works in October 2022, following two years of delay to a remediation scheme in Stevenage.
The government has also set out a deadline for remediation work to progress on medium-rise buildings. Landlords who do not at least have a completion date in place by 31 March 2025.
So far, MHCLG has reviewed 80 per cent of England’s medium and high-rise building stock, which it said should increase to 95 per cent by late 2025.
It also expects to publish a joint action plan with developers this week, after 29 developers agreed to more than double the rate of remediation.
The 29 developers – which make up 95 per cent of the outstanding buildings yet to be remediated – will start work on all the buildings by summer 2027, the government said.
EOCS said the proposals outlined in the plan will “only make a horribly complicated process worse with further layers of bureaucracy”, pointing out that the BSR announced all high-rise work will be underway by April 2026.
“We are still far from a comprehensive solution that will bring about the change innocent leaseholders and residents across the country need and deserve to see. There is still far too much uncertainty,” it added.
