The Government has confirmed plans to introduce a new Remediation Bill as part of The King’s Speech on 13 May, with the stated aim of accelerating remediation across the built environment and addressing long-standing failures in the management of unsafe cladding.

Nearly nine years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, thousands of residents remain in buildings affected by unsafe external wall systems. The proposed legislation seeks to strengthen accountability across the construction and property sectors while providing greater protection for residents impacted by delayed remediation.

A key element of the Bill is the introduction of stronger legal mechanisms enabling developers, contractors and other parties that have funded remediation works to pursue construction product manufacturers for associated costs. The Government has stated that manufacturers must contribute financially towards resolving the crisis.

The legislation will also establish a new legal duty to remediate, placing greater responsibility on building owners and accountable parties to identify, assess and remediate unsafe buildings without delay. Failure to comply could result in significant sanctions, including criminal prosecution in the most serious cases.

In addition, the Bill proposes:

• A nationally consistent approach to external wall assessments through mandatory use of the PAS 9980 framework
• A new register for buildings between 11 and 18 metres in height requiring remediation
• Enhanced powers for regulators to compel remediation activity
• A remediation “backstop”, allowing third parties such as Homes England to intervene where responsible parties fail to act

The Government has indicated that these measures are intended to close gaps in existing legislation, particularly in cases where ownership responsibilities are unclear or where remediation has stalled due to inaction.

Current remediation progress remains slow. Of the 4,310 buildings over 11 metres in England identified with unsafe cladding, remediation has been completed on only 35%. Regulators have already taken enforcement action on more than 800 buildings.

The Government has committed approximately £5.15 billion towards remediation in England, while developers signed to the Developer Remediation Contract are expected to contribute a further £4.2 billion. However, construction product manufacturers have not yet made direct financial contributions, and no manufacturer-related claims have reached court to date.

The proposed Bill also responds to ongoing concerns regarding inconsistent external wall assessments. By embedding PAS 9980 into legislation, the Government aims to ensure a more robust, proportionate and evidence-based approach to evaluating external wall fire risks.

The continued presence of unsafe cladding continues to affect residents across the country, impacting both safety and financial wellbeing. Many leaseholders remain unable to sell their homes, while also facing significantly increased insurance costs and ongoing uncertainty.

Achieving the goal

Lord Andrew Roe KFSM, chair of the Building Safety Regulator’s Board, has stated: “The Remediation Bill will give us the additional tools we need to compel reluctant landlords to take action to remediate their buildings and remove unsafe cladding or face severe sanctions.”

Lord Roe added: “Everyone deserves to feel safe and be safe in their homes. The Remediation Bill will help us to achieve that goal.”

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Jonathan Smith observed: “We welcome this announcement and the continued progress towards legislation that will help to address fire safety risks in high-rise residential buildings. Nearly nine years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, there remain far too many buildings with serious fire safety issues. Ensuring that remediation progresses more effectively is critically important when it comes to restoring the confidence of residents in the safety of their homes.”

Slow pace

Jaclyn Mangaroo, chief communications officer of The Property Institute (the professional body for residential property management) stated: “The slow pace of fixing unsafe buildings has clearly shown the need for legislation. The Remediation Bill is to be welcomed as far as it goes, particularly so for residents who’ve been living with dangerous cladding for years. However, the proposed legislation falls short on two crucial issues: implementing a backstop for pledged developers and addressing internal safety defects.”

Mangaroo continued: “First, the backstop for inaction applies to landlords, but not to developers who pledged to fix their buildings more than three years ago, but – according to our data – have still only completed 10% of the necessary remediation work. This is counterintuitive when developers were responsible for the construction of their buildings and are taking the longest time to fix them. We’ve found that nearly 60% of developer-pledged projects have not yet even agreed the scope of works.”

In addition, Mangaroo went on to comment: “The Government is justified in focusing on removing unsafe external cladding and façades, but the Remediation Bill fails to address internal safety defects such as inadequate compartmentation and non-compliant fire doors. This means that residents will continue living in potentially unsafe buildings, which has a significant knock-on consequence of paying unjust costs to fund interim safety measures, not to mention higher insurance premiums.”

Mangaroo concluded: “Our members, who collectively manage over two million homes in England and Wales, are still facing too many barriers and challenges in attempting to ensure residents are protected from risk and further costs resulting from safety-centred remediation work. The Government must understand and legislate for the fact that that the building safety crisis goes beyond cladding and that residents should not be left in limbo.”

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