Unsafe high-rise buildings to be remediated by 2029

In December 2024, the government launched a new scheme to fix all unsafe high-rise buildings in government-funded schemes by the end of 2029. How much impact will the Remediation Acceleration Plan have on the construction industry?

Addressing the cladding problem

High-rise safety has been a major political issue since the Grenfell Fire tragedy brought public awareness to the dangers of unsafe cladding. “There are far too many residential buildings today still with unsafe cladding and the speed with which this is being addressed is far too slow,” the government has said.

A new focus on compliance with the Code of Practice for the Remediation of Residential Buildings has been made explicit in a scheme to remediate all unsafe high-rise buildings by 2029.

What is in the new scheme?

The new scheme aims to improve safety for residents of high-rise buildings by obliging developers to fix all unsafe high-rises by 2029. The scheme’s three major objectives are fixing buildings faster, identifying all buildings with unsafe cladding, and supporting residents.

The scheme’s key components include:

– A “comprehensive building register” to identify all buildings with unsafe cladding in England;

– A commitment that all buildings over 11 metres with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated or have a date for completion by the end of 2029;

– A regulation that all buildings over 18m with unsafe cladding in a government-funded scheme will have been fixed by the end of 2029.

Alongside these measures, the government also plans to publish a joint action plan with developers aimed at speeding up their work to fix buildings for which they are responsible.

What is the timescale for implementation?

In total, the government plans to review 95% of the UK’s building stock by late 2025. Meeting this target is not a given: the building stock spans to 11 million buildings.

Developers are pledging to make major improvements. Some 29 companies have committed to double the rate at which they assess and fix unsafe buildings. Together these developers cover more than 95% of the buildings being remediated by developers.

Fixing buildings faster

The government has set ambitious goals to remediate buildings more quickly. “Many of the highest risk buildings are known to us. We must ensure they are remediated at pace,” the government says.

Identifying all buildings with unsafe cladding

Alongside remediating risky buildings is the task of identifying which buildings have unsafe cladding. “We must work urgently to identify all buildings at risk,” the government says.

Supporting residents

Finally, the government has committed to support residents throughout the process. Freeholders and leaseholders can face huge bills and other difficulties while awaiting remediation.

Legal obligation

The new scheme puts a legal obligation on landlords to remediate unsafe cladding.

If developers maintain their current pace of work, remediation work on all the necessary buildings is expected to have started by summer 2027. After this, there will be two more years until all buildings must be remediated or clearly accounted for.