In response to a written question, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, Parliamentary Under Secretary of Sate for the Department of Levelling Up, said the government had made it clear that they “expect all those who contribute and profited from affected buildings to take responsibility for fixing them”.
“As part of this, we expect developers to do the right thing, irrespective of where they are based. The developer remediation contract published on 30 January is an important step towards making sure this happens. A number of developers with overseas owners have been invited to sign the contract,” she added.
At the end of January, developers were given a six-week deadline to sign legal agreements to fix unsafe buildings and warned those who didn’t would face “significant consequences”.
Last year, Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove said some of the worst transgressors for dodging cladding remediation payments were foreign developers and there were “practical difficulties” in pursuing them.
He added that the government did have options to to identify who was “ultimately responsible” for the buildings in question.
Scott continued that the Building Safety Levy could be charged on new residential developments which require building control approval.
“As it will be charged as part of the building control process, all developers will have to pay it on developments that are in scope – regardless of whether they are based in the UK or not.”
She said the Department for Levelling Up’s Recovery Strategy Unit was spearheading “legal action against recalcitrant freeholders and is actively investigating the concerning conduct of various companies across the built environment, including contractors and construction product manufacturers”.
Selling freehold ‘not an excuse’ to fail to make buildings safe
In another written response, Lee Rowley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of the Department for Levelling Up, said building owners had a “legal responsibility to make sure their buildings are safe”.
He added: “Where remediation works are required, they must take appropriate action without delay. Even if the building owner is intending to sell the freehold, it is not an excuse not to progress works to make the building safe.
“Where the freehold is sold, the new freeholder assumes all responsibilities and liabilities of the previous freeholder.”
