Government issues latest update on Building Safety Fund applications

The Building Safety Fund has 802 eligible private sector buildings and 166 eligible social sector buildings (ie 968 in total). £2,188 million has been approved for the remediation of unsafe non-ACM cladding from the Building Safety Fund, of which £1,988 million is for private sector remediation and £200 million for social sector remediation.

Remediation work has begun at 443 buildings and been completed at 185 premises (including 101 that have also received building control sign-off).

Private sector residential buildings

As of 30 September, 802 private sector residential buildings were assessed as being eligible for the Building Safety Fund and are proceeding with an application. The remaining 2,534 registered buildings are either ineligible (1,044), withdrawn (1,446) or under review (44).

Further, 78,900 private sector residential homes and properties are estimated to be covered by the 802 buildings proceeding with an application for funding. This estimate is based on responses from Building Safety Fund registrations to a question on the number of units in the building(s).

Social sector residential buildings

As of 30 September, 166 social sector residential buildings were assessed as being eligible for the Building Safety Fund and are proceeding with an application. The remaining 109 registered buildings are either ineligible (48), withdrawn (45), under review (12) or otherwise have insufficient evidence (4).

In addition, 6,600 social sector residential homes and properties are estimated to be covered by the 166 buildings proceeding with an application for funding. This estimate is based on responses from Building Safety Fund applications to a question on the number of units in the building(s).

Private and social sector buildings with ACM and non-ACM cladding

There are currently 105 private sector buildings with both ACM and non-ACM cladding systems. 76 of these buildings have been assessed as eligible for funding for the non-ACM and ACM cladding. Of these, 50 buildings have been awarded funding for costed works.

There are currently 20 social sector buildings with both ACM and non-ACM cladding systems. All 20 buildings have been assessed as eligible for funding for the non-ACM and ACM cladding and, of this cohort, 14 buildings have been awarded funding for costed works.

In total, there are 96 buildings that have been assessed as eligible for funding from the Building Safety Fund with both ACM and non-ACM cladding systems.

Enforcement process

The Government supports local authorities and Fire and Rescue Services in the use of their enforcement powers against buildings with unsafe cladding systems.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has collected data from local authorities on enforcement action taken against high-rise residential buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding in their areas through the work of the Joint Inspection Team, ongoing engagement and an online portal. The enforcement figures represent high-rise buildings with non-ACM cladding both outside of and within the Building Safety Fund.

The data only reflects where formal action has been taken. It doesn’t cover the range of informal interactions that local authorities have with those responsible for buildings to progress the pace of remediation.

Current data shows that enforcement action has been – or is being – taken by local authorities against 207 high-rise buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding. In many other cases, the threat of enforcement action has been effective in triggering building owners to act.

As the data has been collected from local authorities on a voluntary basis, there may be further action that has been taken, of which the department is not yet aware.

Local authority enforcement powers

Under the Housing Act 2004, local authorities have powers to calculate the seriousness of certain hazards and take enforcement action against building owners or landlords based on their assessment.

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is a risk-based assessment evaluation tool designed to help local authorities identify and protect against potential risks and hazards to Health and Safety from any deficiencies identified in residential premises.

The HHSRS assesses 29 categories of housing hazard – including fire – on the potential for harm that may result from exposure to the hazard. Each hazard has a weighting which will help determine whether the property is rated as having risks which are either Category 1 or Category 2.

Where a risk is deemed to be Category 1, a local authority has a duty to take enforcement action. Where a risk is deemed to be Category 2, an authority has the power to take action. In 2018, the Government laid an addendum to the HHSRS Operating Guidance to provide guidance on the assessment of high-rise residential buildings with unsafe cladding.

Following the commencement of the Building Safety Act 2022, local authorities have new powers to take enforcement through Remediation Orders or Remediation Contribution Orders. Remediation Orders allow interested parties (including local authorities and Fire and Rescue Services) to apply to the First-Tier Tribunal for an order requiring a landlord to remedy specified defects in their building.

Remediation Contribution Orders allow interested parties (including local authorities and Fire and Rescue Services) to apply to the First-Tier Tribunal for an order compelling landlords, developers and their associated companies to make payments in order to meet costs incurred in remedying relevant defects.

Local authorities’ enforcement actions  

At present, data shows that enforcement action has been – or is being – taken under the Housing Act by 40 local authorities against 218 buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding, of which 197 have only unsafe non-ACM cladding and 21 of the 218 cases are high rise residential buildings that contain both unsafe non-ACM and ACM cladding. This includes 77 buildings with Joint Inspection Team support.

Hosted by the Local Government Association, the Joint Inspection Team was set up to provide expert advice to local authorities on enforcement for those buildings with unsafe cladding.

A total of 218 buildings have had HHSRS inspections undertaken by a local authority. Of the 218 buildings, 44 had a Category 1 HHSRS rating and 145 buildings had a Category 2 HHSRS rating. Of the 218 cases, at least 56 Improvement Notices and 20 Hazard Awareness Notices have been served to date.