As part of a consultation for the Building Safety Levy, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has suggested that developers of residential buildings must pay a contribution, regardless of the building’s height.
If not, the developer will not be able to move onto the next stage of a project, potentially leading to delays and impacting revenues.
The levy aims to protect leaseholders from having to pay to fix unsafe buildings and is expected to raise £3m over a 10-year period.
The government has also proposed an option to alter the rate of the levy depending on where a development is being built with lower rates in areas where land and property is lower priced, for example. Local authorities may also be required to collect the payments.
To protect the delivery of affordable homes, there could be an exemption for these developments. Smaller projects may also be excluded to shield small and medium businesses.
The levy will be reviewed regularly so it can be revised in line with wider market conditions.
Rowley: ‘Developers must pay to fix building safety issues’
The Building Safety Levy will run alongside a £2m commitment made by 49 of the UK’s biggest housebuilders to contribute towards the remediation of unsafe buildings.
The consultation on the levy opens today and will run for 10 weeks.
Lee Rowley, minister for local government and building safety, said: “We have been clear that developers must pay to fix building safety issues and the Building Safety Levy is an important part of making that a reality.
“Today’s consultation will give industry and local authorities an opportunity to work with us going forward.
“By having these plans in place, we can ensure that all leaseholders are protected, regardless of whether their developer has pledged to remediate or not.”
