The launch of the new Cladding Safety Scheme

The aim of the Cladding Safety Scheme

The aim of the CSS is to ensure that reasonable costs associated with removing unsafe cladding and remediating fire safety defects in mid-rise buildings (11-18m) in England are covered by government funding; and that life-safety risks associated with cladding are addressed as quickly as possible, whilst protecting leaseholders from costs where the developer and the Responsible Entity are unable to fund these works.

The CSS is the biggest building safety intervention to date as part of a wider array of measures to help end the building safety crisis across England. Prior to the opening of the CSS, a building safety fund was only available to high-rise (18m or above with a 30cm tolerance) buildings. The launch of a CSS is a significant step forward to ensure that more buildings that pose fire-safety risks are remediated at no cost to the leaseholders. Those costs will now be covered either by government funding or by developers who built them.

The CSS is funded by the £3 billion Building Safety Levy and the £5.1 billion allocated by government to fix the most dangerous buildings. It covers residential buildings (including social housing) over 11 metres tall outside of London and between 11-18m tall in London. Funding will be provided for the remediation or mitigation of the fire safety risks linked to unsafe external wall systems where:

• the developer cannot be traced or held responsible for remediation, and
• a fire safety professional has recommended action to address associated life safety fire risks following a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Wall construction (FRAEW) using PAS 9980 methodology.

The CSS will be delivered by Homes England. All building owners who believe they are eligible for funding need to apply through Homes England Cladding Safety Scheme via their online portal.

Originally, CSS was known as the Medium-Rise Scheme (MRS), a pilot of which was launched by the government on 30 November 2022. The Pilot Scheme initially targeted a selection of medium-rise buildings with interim or evacuation measures in place (buildings that fire services have identified as needing risk management measures), to offer early support to those leaseholders most affected by the additional costs from waking watch and raised insurance premiums.

Remediation to London-based buildings of 18m+ will continue to be delivered by the Greater London Authority through the Building Safety Fund (BSF).  The existing BSF applications will not be transferred into the new CSS and their funding will continue to be administered through the BSF. The BSF will also continue to accept new applications from private and social sector buildings over 18 metres in London.

The developer remediation contract

On 30 January 2023, the government wrote to major housebuilders and other large developers inviting them to sign the developer remediation contract (the “Contract”) by 13 March 2023, also known as the Developer Pledge. So far, 49 developers have signed the Contract, thus taking responsibility for addressing life-critical fire-safety defects arising from the design and construction of buildings 11 metres and over in height that they developed or refurbished in England over the 30 years prior to 5 April 2022.

The CSS funding is not available where developers have signed up to the Developer Pledge. If the developer has not signed up to the Pledge and is still trading, the applicant is required to take reasonable steps to get the developer to carry out the remedial works.

How can Blake Morgan help?

The Blake Morgan Construction team has extensive experience in advising its clients on building safety defects and the procurement of cladding remediation projects. If you require assistance or advice relating to potential claims or procurement, then please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will be pleased to assist.