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Building Remediation

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  • DLUHC Updates to guidance on Responsible Actors Scheme

    On 3 July 2023, regulations to establish a Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) for residential developers under sections 126-129 of the Building Safety Act 2022 were signed into law. On 21 July 2023, government launched the Responsible Actors Scheme.

    The Scheme will recognise action taken by responsible developers to identify and remediate or pay to remediate life-critical fire safety defects in residential buildings 11 metres or over in height which they developed or refurbished in England over the 30 years to 4 April 2022.

    Developers who are likely to be eligible to join the Scheme will receive an invitation from the Secretary of State. In order to join the Scheme, eligible developers will need to respond to the invitation, apply for membership and enter into the developer remediation contract.

    Those who successfully sign up to the Scheme will have their names added to the Responsible Actors Scheme members list.

    As of 21 September 2023, 37 developers have joined the Scheme.

    The developers who have joined the Responsible Actors Scheme have collectively committed to remediating over 1,100 buildings, equating to over 75,000 homes, at a cost to themselves of over £2 billion.

    Read the latest guidance, enrolment details and regulations here

    • Building Remediation
    • Responsible Actors Scheme

  • Leaseholder protections amendments

    This guidance provides stakeholders with a plain-English explanation of the implications of the latest leaseholder protections amendments in the Building Safety Act 2022.

    Introduction


    1. Since the leaseholder protections came into force in the summer of 2022, DLUHC has engaged extensively with leaseholders, landlords and others affected, such as lenders and conveyancers, to monitor compliance with, and the operation of, the Building Safety Act (the Act) and the leaseholder protections.

    2. The Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections etc.) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/895) (referred to in this guidance as “the amending regulations”) make amendments to The Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/711) and The Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/859) to ensure they have effect in the way originally intended.

    3. The amending regulations are an important step in improving the implementation of the leaseholder protections and provide further detail.

    Click here to read the full guidance.


     

    • Building Remediation
    • Leaseholder Protections

  • PAS 9980: Do you need a Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW)?

    In accordance with the Fire Safety Act 2021, any multi-occupancy residential building’s fire risk assessment must comment on the external walls and advise whether a fire risk appraisal of the external walls (FRAEW) is recommended. In a time of austerity and new regulations that have not been budgeted for, this extra outlay is not desirable. But is there any way to avoid it, legally and safely, or is the sometimes-costly external wall appraisal always required? According to façade and internal fire-safety experts FR Consultants Ltd, while the majority of in-scope buildings will always require a PAS 9980 FRAEW, there are a few select situations where they can be omitted.

    It is important to understand that a full FRAEW does form a key part of the requirements for the following regulations and processes:

    • structure, external walls and flat entrance doors fall within the scope of the Fire Safety Order, and the Fire Safety Act 2021 requires that these elements be included in all fire risk assessments
    • the golden thread of information, the model of gathering, storing and maintaining the key information of a building’s life cycle under the Building Safety Act 2022
    • as part of the information on the design and materials of the external wall system and level of risk that must be provided to the local fire and rescue service under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
    • an EWS1 assessment certificate, also known as the External Wall System Fire Review certificate, is a requirement for any leaseholder buying, selling or remortgaging an apartment in a multistorey, multi-occupied residential building
    • applications for the Building Safety Fund and Cladding Safety Scheme, the multi-billion-pound funds for addressing life-safety fire risks associated with cladding on mid-rise and high-rise residential buildings
    • for insurance purposes, having a FRAEW has proven beneficial in reducing renewal premiums owing to the risk reduction.

    In all these situations, there is no question that a FRAEW is required.

    The requirement for a FRAEW is determined within the fire risk assessment, which must consider the external walls and any attachments. This includes cladding, balconies and any additional external structures, the purpose being to assess the risk to occupants from a fire spreading over or within the external walls of the building and to decide whether remediation to address the risk is considered necessary on a particular building. In some cases, owing to an isolated location or limited extent of the system, the external walls may not be considered at risk, and therefore a PAS 9980 FRAEW will not be required.

    • Fire Safety

  • Guidance: Building Safety Fund guidance for new applications from July 2022

    The government announced the Building Safety Fund (Fund) in March 2020 to fund the remediation of cladding on high-rise residential buildings (buildings over 18 metres).

    The Fund opened for new applications in July 2022 for eligible buildings without a funding solution in place.

    From 9 May 2023, applications for buildings outside London should be made to the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) pilot, delivered by Homes England. New applicants should email support@claddingsafetyscheme.co.uk with their full building address and preferred contact details to start their application.

    Applications from high-rise residential buildings in a London borough should continue to be made 

    • Building Remediation
    • Building Safety Fund (18m+)
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