Cladding Safety Scheme: Funding and Eligibility

The government has announced its biggest building safety intervention to date as part of a wider package of measures to help end the building safety crisis across England.

The full opening of the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS), announced in a speech by Housing Secretary Michael Gove, means that costs associated with removing unsafe cladding in mid-rise buildings will now be covered by government funding, protecting leaseholders from costs where the responsible developer cannot be made to pay.

It is estimated that thousands more mid-rise buildings will qualify, giving tens of thousands of residents across England a pathway to a safe home, with no cost whatsoever to leaseholders in the building.

The CSS will be funded by both the £5.1 billion allocated by government to fix the most dangerous buildings and through revenue from the Building Safety Levy on new development.

The scheme will be available to all medium-rise buildings between 11 and 18 metres across England and high-rise buildings over 18 metres outside of London where fire safety professionals have recommended that works must take place. The scheme will also be available to the social housing sector.

All building owners who believe they are eligible for funding need to apply through Homes England Cladding Safety Scheme application portal.

What the Scheme Covers

The Cladding Safety Scheme funds the assessment and remediation of unsafe cladding on residential buildings in England where no developer or other party can be held liable for the cost. It is government-funded and administered by Homes England outside London.

Eligibility turns on the building rather than on who owns it: the building must be residential, must have life-safety fire risks associated with its cladding, and there must be no alternative route to funding, such as a developer remediation contract or a warranty claim. A building already covered by a developer pledge is not eligible.

What You Need Before Applying

An application needs evidence, and the evidence takes time to obtain. A fire risk appraisal of the external wall carried out to PAS 9980 is the central document: it is what establishes whether a life-safety risk exists and what remediation is proportionate. Without one there is nothing for an assessor to consider.

Alongside it you will normally need proof of the building's height and use, the ownership and management structure, details of the leaseholders, and evidence that other funding routes have been examined and ruled out. Assembling that for a building with an absent freeholder or an inactive management company is usually the slowest part.

Where We Fit

We act for resident management companies, RTM companies and freeholders through the process: commissioning the PAS 9980 appraisal from a competent assessor, assembling the application evidence, corresponding with the scheme, and running the remediation works afterwards, including the section 20 consultation where leaseholder contributions are involved.