In a significant move to address lingering fire safety concerns, the UK government has announced new deadlines for removing unsafe cladding from residential buildings.
The initiative aims to expedite remediation efforts, introduce stricter penalties for non-compliance, and ultimately make homes safer.
Under the updated plan, high-rise buildings taller than 18 meters covered by government-funded schemes must have unsafe cladding removed by the end of 2029. Buildings over 11 meters must either have the work completed or have a confirmed timeline for remediation by the same date, or landlords will face penalties.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner described the new plan as “decisive action” to rectify years of slow progress. However, campaign groups, such as End Our Cladding Scandal, have criticized the proposals, calling them “extremely disappointing” and warning they might worsen an already complicated process.
“The government may pat itself on the back for setting a target, but a nine-year timeline since the Building Safety Fund opened in 2020 is underwhelming,” the group said in a statement. The push for safer buildings follows the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which claimed 72 lives.
An inquiry found that combustible cladding was the primary cause of the fire’s rapid spread, sparking a national effort to remove similar materials.
Despite these efforts, progress has been slow. Seven years on, only one-third of affected high-rise blocks have been fixed, leaving around half a million people still living in unsafe homes.
The government’s remediation acceleration plan includes investment in enforcement and the potential for fines or criminal sanctions for developers who fail to meet the new deadlines. Housing Minister Alex Norris said, “We are drawing a line in the sand” and vowed to hold rogue freeholders accountable.
The plan also highlights commitments from 29 developers—responsible for 95 per cent of ongoing fixes—to double the pace of their assessments and repairs.
Fixing unsafe cladding on all residential buildings over 11 meters in England is estimated to cost between £12.6 billion and £22.4 billion. The government has pledged £5.1 billion towards this effort, with the remainder expected to come from developers, private owners, or social housing providers.
Campaigners have expressed scepticism about the plan’s effectiveness, warning that severe penalties will be meaningless without clear assurances for leaseholders and residents.
The announcement comes ahead of a parliamentary debate on the second Grenfell Tower inquiry report. Rayner emphasized the urgency of the issue, stating, “More than seven years on from the Grenfell tragedy, thousands of people are still living in homes with dangerous cladding. The pace of remediation has been far too slow for far too long.”
While the government’s efforts mark a step forward, critics argue that more comprehensive measures are needed to deliver the safety and certainty residents deserve.
