Nearly 600 social housing blocks with unsafe cladding still have no remediation plan
A total of 596 social housing blocks with unsafe cladding still have no clear remediation plan in place, latest official figures have revealed.
The figure represents around a fifth (22%) of the 2,663 social housing buildings above 11 metres identified as having life-critical fire safety cladding defects, government data published yesterday showed.
Of the 596 total, 235 are blocks that are 18 metres or taller.
The figure of 596 has risen since the previous data release, which showed that 583 buildings above 11 metres with life-critical fire safety cladding defects had no remediation plans.
Overall, an extra 57 buildings identified as having critical defects have been added to the total since the last data release, due to a change in the methodology of reporting in the social housing sector.
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As of 31 January 2025, remediation work had been completed on 693 social housing buildings, representing 26% of the total. Sixty-three buildings were awaiting building control sign-off.
Nearly a fifth (458) have seen remediation work start, while 853 have work “planned”.
The National Housing Federation (NHF) has been critical of the fact that only 10% of the government’s Building Safety Fund has gone to the social housing sector.
Last month Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, told MPs that the remediation funding process was “immoral and unfair”.
Adding to the problem are issues at the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), where delays have been seen in signing off remediation plans.
The government has promised to provide more funding for the sector for remediation.
As part of a remediation acceleration plan, announced in December, ministers vowed to give housing associations and councils extra money to fix blocks so that work can “start sooner”.
At the same time, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) warned that regulatory action will be stepped up against landlords that “fail to get on with the job”.
A deadline of 2029 has been set for remediation work to be finished. Earlier this month it emerged that the BSR and MHCLG are planning a dedicated unit to enforce cladding remediation.
The latest figures, published by MHCLG, showed that there are 5,025 buildings across all tenures with unsafe cladding. Of these, 1,482 have completed remediation work, while 928 have work under way. More than half (2,615) have not started remediation.
Of the 514 buildings with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding – the type used on Grenfell Tower – 446 have seen remediation completed. Overall, 92% have had their ACM cladding removed, the figures showed.
Two buildings with ACM cladding still have an “unclear” remediation plan. This summer will mark the eight-year anniversary since the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people.
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