Dorian Lawrence, managing director of FRC, part of the RSK Group, has written to housing secretary Michael Gove to voice concerns about the Building Safety Act 2022 and the developer pledge
Last year (2021), Michael Gove’s department stated that the developer pledge “established the principle that leaseholders must be protected and that the industry responsible should pay to fix the problems it created.”
Developers who signed up to the pledge had committed to remediating life-critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they have developed or refurbished over the last 30 years in England.
Those making this commitment also agreed to reimburse any funding received from government remediation programmes in relation to buildings.
The agreements were reached following discussions with developers and the Home Builders Federation and will protect leaseholders from the costs of remediation of life-critical fire safety defects.
The department noted in April last year that each developer “will be expected shortly to sign a legally binding contract reflecting these pledges and inform leaseholders in affected buildings how they will be meeting their commitments”.
An agreement on the developer pledge is still yet to be agreed
Although Gove introduced the developer pledge in January last year, it is still yet to be agreed upon.
With more than 30 years of experience as a chartered building surveyor and engineer – in external facades and cladding – Dorian Lawrence has written to Michael Gove to highlight concerns around new regulations such as the Building Safety Act 2022 and the developer pledge.
There are great concerns about the developer pledge and the delays in remediation
Lawrence has requested a meeting with Mr Gove. In his letter, he said:
‘I am writing to share with you the concerns I have regarding the difficulties we are facing in the industry around gaps in new regulations such as the Building Safety Act 2022. I’m sure you will agree with me that building safety and the remediation of historic defects on residential buildings in the UK is a huge ongoing problem and should be a priority for the Government.
‘The longer this process is delayed by ongoing disagreements over scope, the longer we experience a battle to move remediation projects forward and make Britain’s buildings safer.
‘In our experience, remediation projects remain on hold pending confirmation of when or if the pledge will be signed. Pledge developers who had originally engaged with our freeholder clients on the terms and scope of remediation are now paused until the contract with the government is finalised.
‘In some circumstances, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has walked away as soon as the developer has been identified and not progressed in tandem with the Building Safety Fund.’
Lack of clarity on if works are to be completed to PAS 9980:2022 standards
Lawrence also noted that there was a ‘distinct lack of clarity’ on whether works are required to be completed to the standards of PAS 9980:2022 or as mandated by Building Regulations.
In regards to funding for buildings 11-18m in height, Lawrence noted: ‘The industry and residents of these buildings desperately need the reassurance from the Government that these buildings are as much of a priority as those over 18m. Our estimate is that there will be over 30,000 buildings requiring works.’
Building Safety Act must transfer liability to the polluter and not the freeholder
Moving onto Building Safety Act, Lawrence wrote: ‘Following the announcement of Leaseholder Protections that mean it is now illegal for freeholders to pass on any costs relating to the remediation of unsafe external wall systems or historical building repair works to leaseholders except in limited circumstances.
‘We feel there needs to be stronger clarification on when a freeholder is and is not liable for these charges. Specifically, where stated that if any building owner ‘does not have a net wealth of at least £2 million per relevant building as we feel that there is a high risk of many becoming insolvent if assigned liability to fund remediation.
‘We believe that government should specifically assign liability to developers, rather than to freeholders who were not responsible for introducing defects into buildings and who generally lack the cash resources to remediate them. We need to stress that the Building Safety Act must transfer liability to the polluter and not the freeholder when not responsible for construction.’
All works should be covered by the fund, and better training and advice are needed from the Government
Lawrence also referenced the clarity that was required on the scope of the £4.5bn Building Safety Fund, in particular, what it would and would not cover. In his letter, he added: ‘To avoid similar delays as experienced with the original £1bn fund, we would respectfully suggest all works should be covered, including windows, doors, all inner leaf works, structural works, internal and external compartmentation, and fire doors.’
Finally, Lawrence discussed managing agent delays – the introduction of the Landlord Certificate and the significant amount of information required (five years’ worth) for each building. ‘This, in addition to an ever-changing landscape of legislation and regulations they are being required to understand and action is causing a drain on their resource. With only so much time available, better training and advice is needed from the Government to help managing agents cope and deal with the massive volume of work.’
Dorian Lawrence is the managing director of FRC, which is part of the RSK Group. He is a member of the Property Institute Building Safety Group, along with Mr Gove’s department, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, UK Finance the Fire Service and 75 of the largest managing agents.
Mr Lawrence is a member of the Cladding Works – On-site Project Engagement Forum and is currently working with Homes England as an assessor for the Mid-Rise Funding Scheme.
