Cladding Remediation & Maintenance Feature


Cladding Remediation & Maintenance 27


How to navigate remediation orders & access the right support


Lewis Couth of Walker Morris discusses how local authorities can leverage crucial legal tools such as remediation orders under the Building Safety Act, to help them address unsafe cladding.


L


ocal authorities continue to face the challenge of ensuring that building owners address unsafe cladding issues across their authorities, with the Government expecting all buildings with unsafe cladding to be


remediated by the end of 2029, otherwise “landlords will be liable for severe penalties.” Despite the urgency of these fi re safety concerns, not all building owners are willing or fi nancially able to cover the costs required to carry out the necessary remedial work. To tackle this requires collaborative work to ensure landlords comply with


their legal obligations and remediate defective buildings as fast as possible. Where landlords are not doing so, the Building Safety Act 2022 – a seminal and far-reaching piece of legislation that came into place aſt er the Grenfell Tower tragedy – has introduced wide-ranging powers, including remediation orders, that the Government “expects” local authorities to use.


WHAT IS A REMEDIATION ORDER? Remediation orders are vital for improving building safety and accountability in the UK, addressing past failures while ensuring building owners, developers, or landlords bear responsibility for remediation. T ey provide leaseholder protection and help restore public trust in the safety of the housing stock.


APPLICATION FOR A REMEDIATION ORDER Local authorities in England can apply for a remediation order to ensure that a “relevant landlord” (usually the building owner) who has failed to remediate their buildings, does so. T e order, granted by a First-Tier Tribunal, provides a specifi ed date by which essential fi re safety works on buildings must be completed by. A landlord who fails to comply with a remediation order may be in contempt of court and face a fi ne and/or imprisonment for up to two years. While local authorities have long had powers under the Housing Act 2004


to look to compel a landlord to carry out works, the recent remediation order granted in favour of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (represented by Walker Morris) highlights that it can be a powerful enforcement tool available to local authorities where previous notices served by a local authority have not been complied with.


THE REMEDIATION ENFORCEMENT SUPPORT FUND To ensure safety and compliance, the Government has introduced a fund aimed at supporting local authorities to address critical building safety issues, the Remediation Enforcement Support Fund. T e application process for the fund is divided into two stages, and it is


strongly recommended that local authorities seek legal advice to ensure their applications are legally sound. Local authorities risk missing out on necessary funds to address critical remedial issues if they are not legally sound. T is initiative helps address a previous barrier local authorities faced in


providing them with funds to pursue a remediation order application. In the past, they would have been required to source this independently.


Remediation orders are vital for improving building safety and accountability in the UK, addressing past failures while ensuring building owners, developers, or landlords bear responsibility for remediation


FUNDING ELIGIBILITY & OPTIONS Local authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities in England are eligible to apply for support in specifi c building safety legal cases that meet defi ned criteria, such as addressing building defects that pose a risk of fi re spread. T e decision to apply must be independently made by the LAs and FRAs, as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will not provide guidance or advice. Two funding options are available to local authorities to support building safety legal cases. Option one off ers up to £5,000 for initial legal advice from


Housing Management & Maintenance February/March 2025


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