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Scottish government publishes Housing (Cladding Remediation) Bill
The Scottish government has published a bill that gives ministers the power to assess and remediate buildings with unsafe cladding where the owners do not provide consent.
The Housing (Cladding Remediation) Bill also gives ministers the power to evacuate buildings if cladding poses a “substantial risk to the occupants’ lives”.
Under the plans, judges may grant a warrant to assessors to use “reasonable force” to enter a building if the premises are unoccupied or the owner has refused to let them in.
It would become an offence to obstruct or fail to assist with assessments, likely punishable by a fine.
The bill proposed that the Scottish government would record assessments and completed remediation works in a new cladding assurance register.
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Ministers would also gain the power to establish a ‘responsible developers’ scheme to encourage developers to pay for or carry out remediation work.
Such a scheme would be subject to further consultation, Holyrood said, but would likely include an agreement to pay for remediation costs, with sanctions for developers that are eligible but do not join or continue their membership.
Such sanctions could prohibit a developer from carrying out any development, prevent a building warrant being granted, or require a verifier to reject any completion certificate submitted by the developer.
The proposed sanctions are similar to those introduced in England by housing secretary Michael Gove, who has forced developers to sign legal agreements to fix dangerous buildings or face action that will stop them building new homes.
However, the new bill does not mention a building safety levy, another English policy that taxes developers to raise money for the replacement of dangerous cladding. In September, first minister Humza Yousaf said he would “seek the power” to introduce such a levy in Scotland.
Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “We are determined to safeguard people living in buildings with unsafe cladding which has been identified through the cladding remediation programme.
“Where work is required, it should be carried out swiftly and this bill will allow us to build on progress to date by addressing barriers to assessment and remediation work.
“The public commitments that have already been made by many of Scotland’s developers to identify, assess and remediate their buildings mean that public money can be focused on buildings without a linked developer.
“The opportunity for future creation of a responsible developers scheme – through secondary legislation – would recognise those developers who are doing the right thing and protect the reputation of responsible operators.”
