Draft Building Safety Bill

The Government has recently published its draft Building Safety Bill. The bill would bring a number of changes in what is being referred to as the “biggest improvements to building safety in nearly 40 years”.

Changes include:

  • The creation of a new Building Safety Regulator
  • A new duty holder system will be implemented in every building, which aims to ensure that the person or entity that creates a building safety risk is responsible for managing that risk
  • The requirement to have a Building Safety Manager in every high-rise building in the country to manage the day-to-day management of the building
  • Increased sanctions for breaches
  • Creation of a New Homes Ombudsman

The Almshouse Association will continue to monitor the progress of the bill and will keep members up to date with any developments.

Building Safety Fund

The Government has released guidance for social landlords on how to apply for the Building Safety Fund to pay for the removal of dangerous cladding without passing the cost onto leaseholders. Due to the age of most almshouses, it is unlikely that many members will be eligible for this support, but it is worth looking into if you oversee a multi-storey almshouse. It is also worth noting that a lot of the language refers to landlords and leaseholders, but the funding should extend to almshouse charities.

The key points for the fund are:

  • The Government will prioritise funding for building owners who can demonstrate that the contractor will start work on cladding remediation by 31 March next year
  • Online forms must be completed by 31 December 2020 to be considered
  • Trustees would need to provide:
    • Confirmation that evidence is available to support submissions regarding eligibility of height and materials.
    • Confirmation of costs of the project – this could be a report from a cost consultant, together with the basis on which costs attributable to leaseholders have been calculated.
    • Confirmation that they have the legal right to recharge leaseholders – this could be evidence in the form of a copy of a lease agreement that contains the legal right to pass cost back to leaseholders. Social housing providers will be expected to show a representative sample demonstrating that the ability to recharge is across all leases.
    • Certification that the project will be on site and remediation work will have started by 31 March 2021.
  • The funding is not available for buildings below 17.7m in height

Full guidance on the fund can be found here.

Previous Policy and Governance Updates:

Click here for Policy and Governance – June 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance – May 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance – Apr 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance – Mar 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance – Feb 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance –Jan 2020 Summary
Click here for Policy and Governance – 2019 Summary

Posted 17 August 20