<p><span>The government will “fully fund” the cost of replacing dangerous cladding for all leaseholders in residential buildings of 18 metres or more, it announced today (February 10), pledging £3.5 billion of support and other measures to improve building safety, including a developer tax and levy.</span></p> <p><span>Housing secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed to the House of Commons that the government would cover the cost of remediation for higher rise residential homes </span><span>in England</span><span>, which the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said would save “hundreds of thousands” of leaseholders from paying for the replacement of unsafe cladding.</span></p> <p><span>MHCLG will also introduce a new tax for the UK residential property development sector, set to raise around £2 billion over a decade </span><span>to pay for cladding remediation </span><span>and ensuring that “the largest property developers make a fair contribution to the remediation programme.” This will be consulted on “in due course”. </span></p> <p><span>Jenrick also announced a “Gateway 2” developer levy which will </span><span>apply to </span><span>developers seeking permission to build certain high rise buildings in England.</span></p> <p><span>L</span><span>easeholders in lower rise buildings of between 11 and 18 metres </span><span>will be able to </span><span>access a new scheme to pay for cladding removal through a “long term, …