Chloe SmithMP for Norwich North
Chloe SmithToday the government has announced that housing developers will have six weeks to sign a contract requiring them to fix unsafe buildings and reimburse taxpayers or face significant consequences.
The government has set a six-week deadline for developers to sign the legal agreements and is warning that companies who fail to sign and comply with the terms of the contract will face significant consequences.
Legislation will be brought forward in the spring giving the Secretary of State 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. These innocent households would otherwise face costly repairs for serious safety defects, including non-cladding related issues.
Under the contract, developers will commit an estimated £2 billion or more for repairs to buildings they developed or refurbished over the past 30 years. This means that together with the Building Safety Levy, industry is directly paying an estimated £5 billion to make their buildings safe.
The contract also requires developers to reimburse taxpayers where public money has been used to fix unsafe buildings.
Too many developers, along with product manufacturers and freeholders, have profited from unsafe buildings and have a moral duty to pay for the repair – instead of leaving innocent leaseholders to face the often significant costs.
This new contract will help restore confidence in the sector and lift a weight off the shoulders of many leaseholders who could otherwise have faced crippling repair costs.
For further information on this announcement, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/six-weeks-for-developers-to-sign-contract-to-fix-unsafe-buildings?deliveryName=DM18017
