The 2017 Grenfell fire was the deadliest UK fire in 30 years, killing 72 people. The subsequent inquiry prompted 49 developers to pledge publicly that they will remedy the existing problems in their buildings. This pledge is to be made legally binding in a new Developer Remediation Contract.
The contract requires firms to repair homes with safety risks that have been exposed by the Grenfell Tower fire, and would see £2 billion spent on repairs to buildings with safety issues, including unsafe cladding. The date by which developers were required to sign was 13th March 2023.
The levelling up secretary, Michael Gove confirmed that 39 firms had signed by the due date, but named a further eleven firms that had so far refused. The reasons provided by the firms varied, with some experiencing changes to their boards of directors and others still finalising the details. Eight firms had still not signed on 17th March.
In response to their failure to sign, Mr Gove, has enraged property developers in England, Scotland and Wales, by threatening a nationwide ban if they did not do so. He also said that new buildings that have already been constructed by the firms would not receive Building Control approval.
One of the developers named, London Square, said that it had signed the pledge last year and was in support of the government’s response to building safety. However, the company claimed it had not received a ‘relevant’ contract and that its lawyers were liaising with the government. As such, London Square said it was disappointed to have been included on the naughty list. The firm has now signed the contract.
Mr Gove said in a commons speech that the companies: “will be out of the housebuilding business in England entirely unless and until they change their course.” He said he would “publish key features of our new ‘responsible actors’ scheme” in the future.
The contract was designed to help leaseholders living in high rise buildings (those between 11m and 18.5m high). Many were facing high costs for the removal of dangerous cladding, and the scheme will take this responsibility away from them. However, only 1,100 buildings are covered by the scheme and up to 9,000 other buildings were thought, by the government, to be unsafe.
Defects outside the scope of the contract are yet to be addressed, and Mr Gove said that fire safety issues in buildings under 11m would be dealt with on a ‘case by case basis’.