Government Launches Cladding Safety Scheme for Residential Buildings in England

Grants are available for the remediation of unsafe cladding which poses a fire risk on residential buildings in England where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced, or held responsible.

The Cladding Safety Scheme has been established to meet the cost of addressing fire risks associated with cladding on residential buildings in England. Grants are available to mitigate life safety risks, where this is recommended in a Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW).

The following types of grant funding are available:

• Pre-tender support funding, where requested, which will only be made available once the application has been submitted and approved as eligible. An initial estimate of the cost of the works will be made, based on the FRAEW assessment. Pre-tender support is calculated as 15% of this cost, up to a maximum of £300,000. (Pre-tender support is not provided for social sector applicants.)
• Full cost funding, which will only be made available once the application has been approved, following an eligible assessment, and the applicant has signed the grant funding agreement and would include (where provided) any pre-tender support funding previously given.

The scheme will cover reasonable eligible costs for works required to address the life safety fire risks associated with cladding and external wall systems on eligible buildings in England. Works must have commenced on or after 10 January 2022 to ensure that they follow recommendations in a FRAEW assessment.

Applications are accepted for wholly residential or mixed use residential and commercial developments, in both the private and social sectors. Buildings must have unsafe cladding on an external wall. They should be over 11 metres in height if located outside of London, and between 11 and 18 metres inside London.

In the private sector, applications are open to the building’s Responsible Entity (or an agent acting on their behalf). This can be a management company, or a Right to Manage Company that has primary responsibility for the repair of the property.

In the social sector, applications are open to the Responsible Entity for a building, in this instance usually the landlord will be a registered provider of social housing or a local authority.

Applications are now open. There is no stipulated deadline.

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)