Government commits to fixing cladding on high-rises by end of 2029

The government says it will fix dangerous cladding on all high-rise buildings included in publicly-funded schemes by the end of the decade.

The new target was announced this morning as part of the publication of a new Remediation Acceleration Plan.

Buildings taller than 11m but below the 18m high-rise threshold will be expected to have a target date for completion by the end of 2029, or the landlords will be held liable for penalties.

There will be new investment in enforcement for local councils, fire and rescue authorities and the Building Safety Regulator as part of the acceleration plan.

According to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), developers will also be required to double the rate at which they fix the buildings they are responsible for under a new joint action plan.

At least 29 developers have committed to this goal, which would mean work on all their buildings would have started by summer 2027.

> Also read: ‘We will deliver a generational shift’… Why the Grenfell Inquiry report means another building safety shake-up

MHCLG says these developers cover more than 95% of buildings that are being remediated privately.

The drive to remediate tall buildings in England came as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017, in which 72 people lost their lives.

Earlier this year, an inquiry into the fire highlighted catastrophic failures in government and private industry, which it said resulted in the deaths.

The government is considering its response to the report and has committed to providing an update on its progress by next March. 

The Labour government has stuck with the previous administration’s commitment to invest a total of £5.1bn into removing unsafe cladding.

As of August this year, MHCLG had spent £2.3bn on remediation and in the recent budget it committed to spending a further £1bn in the 2025/26 financial year.

Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said: “More than seven years on from the Grenfell tragedy, thousands of people have been left living in homes across this country with dangerous cladding.

“The pace of remediation has been far too slow for far too long. We are taking decisive action to right this wrong and make homes safe. 

“Our Remediation Acceleration Plan will ensure those responsible for making buildings safe deliver the change residents need and deserve.” 

Rayner is set to address the House of Commons this afternoon, where she will commit to bringing forward a long-term social housing remediation strategy next spring.

Heather Kidd, chair of the Local Government Association’s safer and stronger communities board, said: “Councils are committed to keeping tenants and residents safe, and are keen to work with Government to drive the pace of remediation.

“However, for local government to carry out enforcement and addressing cladding issues as effectively and quickly as possible, multi-year funding arrangements are needed.

“Councils are keen to remediate the buildings they own that have dangerous cladding, but they need access to the necessary funding to do so on the same basis they had to remediate ACM cladding.”

Benjamin Ralph, head of building safety and fire service at Hollis Global, said: “After years of continuing uncertainty since the fire at Grenfell Tower, it’s good to see another proactive step forward regarding cladding remediation. 

“But residents should not have to wait another five years to get this work done. The government also needs to step in with further skills and funding support to ensure the industry can meet the new 2029 deadline.”