Housebuilders set out plan on cladding costs

The housebuilding industry has told the housing secretary Michael Gove that it will commit to resolve fire safety concerns on all their buildings over 11m as part of efforts to resolve the cladding crisis.

In a letter to the secretary of state from the HBF, executive chairman Stewart Baseley outlined a three-pronged proposal to tackle the issue. In addition to committing to address fire safety concerns on their buildings over 11m, HBF members will pledge that remediation will go back to developments since 2000 and that they will withdraw from the Building Safety Fund, the £5.1 billion fund set up to tackle buildings over 18m high.

Baseley said: “We reiterate our full support for the principle that leaseholders should not pay for fire safety remediation works. Our proposal is a strong indication of the seriousness with which HBF members take this matter and goes significantly further than their substantial existing commitments. We will continue to engage constructively with government to find fair and proportionate solutions.”

The letter of response sent today says that HBF believes that most members will commit to the three-strand proposal. Privately housebuilders feel this is a fair offer, fixing the buildings that they built and …