HBF calls for fairness after Gove’s “misleading” levy call

HBF executive chairman Stewart Baseley has written to housing secretary Michael Gove expressing the industry’s “disappointment and frustration” at his intention to raise a new levy on housebuilders to pay for the building safety crisis

In a wide-ranging letter, Baseley calls Gove’s announcement of the levy – made last week - “misleading”, because it referred to a “wide ranging agreement”. Baseley goes on to say that the industry does not think the new levy – set to raise £3 billion – is fair or justified and repeats calls for other “actors” in the saga to be pursued for contributions too, stressing that the industry is already committed to pay more than £5 billion through the signing of the building safety pledge.

“The industry does not believe that an additional ‘Building Safety Levy’ of another £3 billion to pay for the remediation of other buildings and to tackle issues that are not of its making is fair or justified,” writes Baseley. “We are concerned that an overall bill for UK housebuilders of more than £8 billion…will harm housing supply and create a distorted market leaving them disadvantaged in comparison with overseas developers and other housing providers.”

Baseley says that a …