TPI urges Government to strengthen Remediation Bill as cladding progress stalls
The Property Institute has called for tougher legal powers to force developers to accelerate cladding remediation after new research found Government-funded schemes are progressing at more than twice the rate of developer-led projects.
The Property Institute (TPI) has called on the Government to strengthen its forthcoming Remediation Bill after new research found a widening gap between the progress of Government-funded cladding remediation schemes and those being delivered by developers under the Responsible Actors Scheme.
The trade body, whose members manage around 2 million homes across the UK, said Government-funded projects are completing at more than twice the rate of developer-backed schemes. TPI warned that, at the current pace, it could take around 10 years before all developer-pledged buildings have even started remediation work on site.
According to TPI’s analysis of 511 buildings requiring cladding remediation, only 24% are currently in active delivery, with 13.5% completed and 11% under construction.
Almost half of all affected buildings remain in the early stages of assessment or scoping, rising from 32% a year ago to 48%. The organisation estimates that more than 1,300 developer-pledged buildings have yet to make meaningful progress, leaving almost 80,000 homes in unsafe buildings.
The data highlights a significant difference in delivery rates. Among 117 Government-funded projects, 40% are either on site or complete, with 26% finished. By comparison, just 19% of the 394 developer-pledged projects have reached those stages, while 58% remain in the early phases of the process. Only 10% of developer-led schemes have been completed and a further 10% have started on site.
TPI is urging ministers to use the forthcoming Remediation Bill, announced in the King’s Speech, to introduce legally enforceable deadlines for developers signed up to the Responsible Actors Scheme. The organisation is also calling for the legislation to cover internal building safety defects as well as external cladding.
Andrew Bulmer, chief executive officer at TPI, said: “This data is genuinely alarming. Thousands of people across the country are living in unsafe buildings, often unable to sell their homes, having faced nearly a decade of uncertainty since the Grenfell tragedy.
“The fact that the current remediation progress is so slow, with no end in sight, is a national scandal. The goal for the government and everyone involved in the housing sector should be to make these homes safe as soon as possible.
“The Government’s Remediation Bill is an opportunity to give developers a legally binding backstop that reassures residents that every step legally possible is being taken to make their homes safe. Pledged developers need a hard deadline to ensure there are no more unnecessary delays.”
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