<p><span>The government has published the contract underlining its building safety pledge, with housebuilders given six weeks to sign the legal agreements or “face significant consequences”.</span></p> <p><span>At the same time, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has pointed to comments from the levelling up secretary which, it said, indicated the government’s acknowledgement of partial responsibility for building safety issues, marking a significant shift in position.</span></p> <p><span>The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has finalised the developer remediation contract, which legally commits eligible housebuilders to taking responsibility for fixing fire safety defects on buildings of more than 11 m high in which they were involved in England over the past 30 years.</span></p> <p><span>If eligible housebuilders fail to sign the contract by March 13, they risk being blocked from developing, according to DLUHC. This includes – under legislation being brought forward in the spring within the Building Safety Act - being banned from commencing schemes which have planning permission and from receiving building control approval for construction that is underway.</span></p> <p><span>Under the contract, as well as undertaking all necessary work to relevant buildings stretching back 30 years, developers will legally commit to reimbursing taxpayers for funding spent on remediating their buildings and …