Planning and Building Control Bans for Developers Refusing to Fix Cladding

THE GOVERNMENT is launching a Responsible Actors Scheme for developers refusing to fix dangerous cladding.

Developers who do not join the Scheme will have planning and building control bans imposed on them.

The Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) will require members to identify and remediate fire safety defects in 11m+ residential buildings they developed or refurbished over the past 30 years.

It will apply to housebuilders with an average annual profit over 3 years of £10 million or over.

The Scheme imposes a developer remediation contract with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Developers that don’t sign up to or honour the contract will be stopped from carrying out building work and getting building control sign-off. The government says this will make sure that developers who take on the cost of remediating unsafe buildings are not competitively disadvantaged.

The developer remediation contract binds signatories to:

• Identify 11m+ residential buildings they developed or refurbished over the past 30 years and any of those buildings known to have life-critical fire safety defects.
• Remediate or pay for the defects in those buildings.
• Reimburse government schemes for taxpayer-funded remediation work.
• Meet all other obligations of the developer remediation contract, including around keeping residents and DLUHC updated on progress of work.

The government says the scheme may impose additional membership conditions such as applying a ‘fit and proper person test’ to directors and managers.

Members of RAS will have to provide quarterly evidence that they are complying with the scheme’s conditions to stay in it.

Bans for Developers

Those who refuse to sign up to the scheme will be banned from carrying out building work of 10 or more residential units, commercial development creating at least 1000 square metres of floorspace, and development on a site over 1 hectare in size.

Existing planning enforcement powers will be used to companies that ignore the ban.

The regulations will also stop a prohibited person from gaining building control approval to start work, as well as completion certificates.

The government intends to lay regulations in Spring 2023 to establish a Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) for residential developers under sections 126-129 of the Building Safety Act 2022.

>> Read more about the Building Safety Act in the news