Gove issues six weeks ultimatum to sign building safety contract

Aaron Morby 1 year ago
Share

Housing secretary Michael Gove has set a six-week deadline for developers to sign a government contract issued today committing them to fix their unsafe towers.

Gove says action comes after too many developers, along with product manufacturers and freeholders, have profited from these unsafe buildings
Gove says action comes after too many developers, along with product manufacturers and freeholders, have profited from these unsafe buildings

He also warned that any house builders and developers failing to sign the contract would be banned from the market.

Volume house builder Persimmon is the first to sign, with Barratt expected to follow suit shortly.

The remediation contract requires developers to fix buildings and reimburse taxpayers, with an estimated £2bn expected to be committed to fund repairs.

Legislation will be brought forward in the spring introducing fresh powers to prevent developers from operating freely in the housing market if they fail to sign and comply with the remediation contract.

The contract, which has been drawn up by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, will protect thousands of leaseholders living in hundreds of buildings across England.

Click here to see new Remediation Contract

Under the contract, developers will commit an estimated £2bn or more for repairs to buildings developed or refurbished over the past 30 years.

This means that together with the Building Safety Levy, industry is directly paying an estimated £5bn to make buildings safe.

The contract also requires developers to reimburse taxpayers where public money has been used to fix unsafe buildings.

Around 49 of the country’s leading developers have pledged to fix their own buildings, which will now be turned into legally binding commitments.

Gove said: “Today marks another significant step towards righting the wrongs of the past and protecting innocent leaseholders, who are trapped in their homes and facing unfair and crippling costs.

“Too many developers, along with product manufacturers and freeholders, have profited from these unsafe buildings and have a moral duty to do the right thing and pay for their repair.

“In signing this contract, developers will be taking a big step towards restoring confidence in the sector and providing much-needed certainty to all concerned.”

He added: “There will be nowhere to hide for those who fail to step up to their responsibilities – I will not hesitate to act and they will face significant consequences.”

Dean Finch, group chief executive at Persimmon, said: “The publication of the developer remediation contract is the culmination of many months of hard work on all sides and we are pleased to confirm our intention to sign the final document in the near future, becoming the first developer to do so.

“The terms of the contract are entirely consistent with our existing commitment to protect leaseholders in multi-storey buildings we constructed from the costs of remediating cladding and life-critical fire-related safety issues.”

A Barratt spokesman added: “We will be carefully considering the detail of the Developer Remediation Contract with a view to signing it over the coming weeks.”

Details of forthcoming changes to support leaseholders


Under legislation to be brought forward this spring, a Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) will be created, allowing the housing secretary to block developers who have not signed the contract or failed to comply with its terms from carrying out development and from receiving building control approval.

This will prevent them from operating as normal in the housing market for as long as they do not resolve the problems of the past.

Gove has also pledged take action to ban managing agents and freeholders from taking commissions when they take out building insurance.

This comes in response to a report from the Financial Conduct Authority that suggested commissions make up almost a third of premiums.

Government will also bring in further measures to make service charges more transparent and empower leaseholders who want to challenge their bills.

This follows confirmation from six major lenders that, from earlier this month, they will once again consider mortgage applications on properties that are covered by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act, or where the building is eligible for a government or developer remediation scheme.

Once developers sign the contract, leaseholders will benefit from a common framework of rights and responsibilities that will get their buildings fixed without them having to pay, and will require developers to inform residents in affected buildings how they will be meeting these commitments.

Latest news

Morgan Sindall to build former Willmott Dixon leisure job

New contractor appointed on
15 hours ago

Graham consortium wins £400m Manchester job

Equitix consortium to now work up DBFO plans for University of Manchester’s Fallowfield Campus
12 hours ago

Keltbray looking to sell infrastructure business

£378m turnover rail, energy and highways business up for sale
22 hours ago

Innovative viaduct building method used for first time in UK

HS2 contractors will build nine viaducts in Delta Junction using special cantilevered process
23 hours ago

Unite buys London site to fast-track 444-bed student scheme

£800m to be spent on London development pipeline in next five years
23 hours ago

CITB awards £2.5m of contracts to management consultant

Three outsourced deals in the last year for "project leadership and management consultancy"
23 hours ago

Village centre approved for 6,000-home new town plan

Hampshire's Welborne Garden Village plan has been in the pipeline for two decades.
22 hours ago

£3m fine after cherry picker demolition death

Court rules after tragedy during decommissioning of gas rig
23 hours ago

BAM plans wave of job cuts at UK Construction arm

Co-op Live arena plunges Bam Construction to £19.5m first-half loss
2 days ago

Robot tunnel builder goes into administration

Hypertunnel was hoping to revolutionise how underground structures are built
2 days ago

Wates to build £86m Guildford Council housing scheme

40% of the 248 homes will become council homes under partnership deal
2 days ago

“Scrap CITB” say three quarters of construction firms

Payroll giant Hudson Contract calls for CITB to be absorbed into new Skills England training body
2 days ago

£100m Prestwich Village revival approved

Vinci and Willmott Dixon in chase for Muse-led regeneration scheme
2 days ago

Carbon negative asphalt aggregate trialled on M11

Skanska and Tarmac test CO2 absorbing aggregate material on stretch of Essex motorway
2 days ago

Father and son sentenced over covid construction loan fraud

Bristol builders given suspended jail sentences over bogus Bounce Back Loans
2 days ago

Beck Interiors files administration notice

Supply chain has suffered delayed payments from £139m-turnover luxury fit out specialist
3 days ago

Green light for York Central civil service office hub

£60m office project accelerates York Central goods yard redevelopment
3 days ago

Blenheim House Construction enters administration

Administrators looking at options on present projects
3 days ago

Profits rise at Esh Group with more to come

Contractor confident about year ahead as market conditions move in right direction
3 days ago

Piling specialist Van Elle sees housing orders rise 30%

Mark Cutler says firm on course to deliver 10% annual sales growth
3 days ago

HS2 to spend £100m shutting sites where work never started

Remediation of sites no longer needed for cancelled Phase 2 will take three years
4 days ago

Willmott Dixon wins £61m deal for new Army dog unit

Contractor to revamp Kendrew Barracks in Rutland
3 days ago

Stockport advances 4,000-home Town Centre East plan

Council seeks consultants to steer plan for 280-acre area in the city
3 days ago

ISG sale imminent as buyers set-up UK holding company

South African nutrition entrepreneur and Australian partner primed to take over
4 days ago

CR Construction wins £210m Manchester towers

Construction to start next year on four blocks ranging from nine to 34-storeys
4 days ago

Southern Housing to rationalise supply chain following merger

Firms put on alert for £1.7bn construction framework renewal
4 days ago

Decision delayed on 52-storey Isle of Dogs tower

Hong Kong developer plans 460 flats block next to Millwall Inner Dock
4 days ago

Go-ahead for £850m North London estate rebuild

Flagship Edmonton housing estate redevelopment will deliver 2,000 new homes
4 days ago

Mace lands £184m Oxford Science Park contract

Contractor to build trio of laboratory and office buildings
5 days ago

Worker paralysed in 30ft fall during electricity pylon demolition

Specialist firm fined £240,000 after court hears linesman attached lanyard to a loosened steel section
4 days ago

Contractor services