HBF urges suspension of Building Safety Levy

The Home Builders Federation has written to chancellor Rachel Reeves to express “its deep concerns” over the government’s decision to implement the previous administration’s Building Safety Levy.

More than 100 housebuilders have signed the letter, in which HBF writes that the levy is “nakedly anti-development”.

It urges the government to reconsider implementing the levy, pointing out that the additional tax will mean “many fewer homes, including affordable homes, being built,” with the extra burden threatening “the existence of some hard-pressed SME home builders”.

The letter states that the new tax, expected to raise £3.4 billion, is likely to seriously harm efforts to reach the government’s 1.5 million new homes target.

It points out that no ministers have undertaken a formal impact assessment on the levy’s effect on housing supply. Only this year will work be carried out to “more accurately assess how much the funding might realistically be required to collect from industry”.

HBF also stresses that UK housebuilders have already contributed £6.4 billion towards building safety remediation through the 4% Residential Property Developer Tax and additional remediation commitments from more than 50 housebuilders.

“By contrast, product manufacturers, some of whom were …