Accelerating Remediation: The Introduction of the Remediation Bill – Part 1

How the Remediation Bill Aims to Mandate Swift Completion of Building Safety Work…

In the first of a two-part article, Legal Director Phil Parkinson examines the recently published Remediation Bill, commenting on the likely impact, implications and measures that Landlords should be aware of as the Bill begins its passage through Parliament.

Background

In December 2024, the government published the Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP), which set out plans to both accelerate the remediation of residential buildings with unsafe cladding in England and improve resident experience. The proposed measures included bringing forward a Remediation Bill to compel landlords to remediate their buildings within fixed timescales or face criminal prosecution, supported by new powers including a Remediation Backstop, to ensure the work is completed by empowering Homes England and local authorities to carry out works directly and recover costs through enforced sales where landlords fail to act.

With only an estimated 39% of remediation completed on identified buildings to date, the Bill, introduced on the 14^th October, will place greater responsibility on building owners to identify, assess and remediate unsafe buildings with a focus on completion as much as liability.

What the Bill Covers

The principal changes the Bill introduces, can be summarised as follows:

• A direct statutory duty on the relevant repairing party to assess external wall fire-safety risks and, where required, mitigate and remediate them for residential buildings in England containing at least two dwellings and reaching either 11 metres or five storeys.
• A formal compliance-planning process, including Fire Risk Assessments of External Walls and published Remediation Compliance Plans shared with residents and leaseholders.
• A public-sector backstop allowing local authorities or Homes England to seek a Remediation Management Order from the First-tier Tribunal and take control of remediation where statutory obligations remain unmet.
• Criminal offences and significant civil penalties, including potential imprisonment for serious non-compliance and penalties of up to £500,000 in specified circumstances.
• A proposed national register for occupied medium-rise residential buildings, supported by penalties for failure to register, failure to update information and the provision of false or misleading information.
• Wider reforms concerning Remediation Orders, Remediation Contribution Orders, Building Liability Orders, insolvency, section 24 managers, ownerless freeholds and claims involving construction products.

What is Outside the Scope of the Bill?

 With the intention of the Bill to fill any gaps in existing legislation, there are still apparently some notable points of exclusion and some requiring further clarification. These include:

• The remediation duty only covers multi-occupied residential buildings over 11 metres or with at least five storeys, not buildings below this height threshold.
• The proposed duty only applies to buildings completed before 28 June 2022.
• Commercial buildings and hotels appear to be outside the duty, since it targets multi-occupied residential buildings.
• The main remediation duties apply in England only, although the manufacturer-redress changes seem to apply on a UK-wide basis.
• The Bill centres on external walls, and there is little regarding issues such as compartmentation nor how internal defect matters would be enforced.
• The Bill doesn’t say who pays to rehouse residents if a building is decanted, or whether leaseholders will be protected from those costs.

The Questions of Capacity

As has been commented on at length in the debate surrounding the pace of remediation to date, there are key issues which hold significant implications for landlords and freeholders. While the Bill established a framework for timelines and penalties, it does little to address capacity constraints, including a shortage of qualified professionals and contractors and BSR approval times that remain well above statutory targets (a median of around 32 weeks for external remediation against an 8-week determination period). A reasonable-excuse defence offers some protection for delays outside owners’ control, but no route to increasing supply.

What Can Landlords Do?

To mitigate these challenges, landlords may in future need to consider building a robust case for Courts and Tribunals under the proposed “reasonable excuse clause” where recording delays caused by application backlogs or a lack of available certified or qualified specialists for example, may be taken on a case-by-case basis to recognise obstruction, shortage or unforeseen structural complications.

On a more immediate basis, it may be prudent for landlords to review their portfolios, identify impacted buildings, the status of remedial work and the current processes for cost recovery claims. It may also be advisable to explore alternative routes for financial support, such as the Cladding Safety Scheme and in future, the development of regional Local Remediation Acceleration Plans (LRAPs) to identify a wider pool of contractors, shared resources and fast-track approvals. Below, we offer checklist for consideration:

• Create a complete list of residential buildings meeting either the height or storey threshold and record the basis of measurement.
• Identify the repairing party for each external wall and document any ambiguity arising from intermediate leases, management arrangements or statutory intervention.
• Locate all fire-risk assessments and FRAEWs produced since 16 May 2022, and record their methodology, recommendations and implementation status.
• Develop a template Remediation Compliance Plan covering interim measures, scope, programme, responsible officer, ownership information and resident communications.
• Establish a board-level reporting route for delayed remediation, access problems, unavailable contractors and other matters that may be relevant to a reasonable-excuse defence.

 When Will the Measures Be Introduced?

In conclusion, the Bill is designed to move the building-safety regime from a framework that has often depended on fragmented rights and enforcement routes, to one centred on an express duty, monitored compliance and stronger intervention powers. Its effect is likely to extend well beyond the immediate duty-holder. Developers, public authorities, product manufacturers, insolvency practitioners, managing agents and leaseholder-controlled bodies may all be affected.

The most effective preparation will combine legal analysis with reliable building data, technical evidence and clear governance. Organisations that identify responsibility, verify their assessment records and preserve evidence before the commencement dates will be better placed to comply, respond to enforcement and pursue or defend recovery claims.

In our next article, we will take a deep-dive in to the detail of the proposed measures, however, in the meantime, should you wish to discuss the challenges you face with building safety matters, please contact our team: buildingsafety@jbleitch.co.uk