Michael Gove has threatened major housebuilders in Great Britain with a nationwide ban if they fail to sign up to a building safety contract many have not yet been sent.
The levelling up secretary has given developers in England, Scotland and Wales until Monday to sign a contract to remove and replace dangerous materials in the wake of the Grenfell fire.
But the Guardian has learned that only a handful of companies have signed the contract so far with many not having received a final version ready for signatures.
Neil Jefferson, the managing director of the Home Builders Federation, said: “UK housebuilders have demonstrated their commitment to helping leaseholders by signing the pledge and are now going through the final stages of concluding the complex contractual process set by the government.
“UK housebuilders are getting on with remediation work, and rather than attacking them on social media the government may be better focused on delivering on its promise to get contributions from other parties, including construction product companies and overseas-based developers.”
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed that the text of the main contracts had been sent to developers on 30 January, but that annexes containing lists of exactly which buildings have to be improved were still being finalised.
A spokesperson for the department said: “All developers received the final text of the contract on 30 January and several have since confirmed they will sign.
“We expect all developers to do so without delay. Those that fail to do the right thing will be banned from the housing market.”
The Grenfell fire in 2017 was the deadliest UK fire in 30 years, killing 72 people. An investigation afterwards found that Grenfell and many other tower blocks in the country had been clad with dangerously combustible materials, prompting the government to promise £5bn towards remediation.
As part of that plan, 49 housebuilders signed up to a pledge last year to spend a collective £1.3bn replacing flammable cladding or other material in any mid-rise building developed over the last 30 years in England, Scotland or Wales. However, this was short of the £4bn the government estimated would be needed.
By Monday those companies, which include developers such as Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon, are supposed to have signed a contract to do so, detailing exactly which buildings will be improved and when. But developers say the process has been rushed and often chaotic, with civil servants struggling to get the paperwork completed on time.
The industry has also complained that only Great British housebuilders are being asked to pay for retrofitting, and not foreign developers or the companies that made the materials used in affected buildings.
skip past newsletter promotion
Sign up to First Edition
Free daily newsletter
Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters
Enter your email address Enter your email address Sign upPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion
Despite these problems, Gove has continued to threaten builders who do not sign the contract. This week he tweeted: “Developers: you have one week to sign the building safety contract to fix unsafe buildings you are responsible for or you will be banned from operating in the housing market.”
The public threats have infuriated many housebuilders, who say the delays are the government’s fault, not theirs.
An executive at one of the UK’s largest housebuilders said: “We have been going back and forth with the department for weeks answering their questions and helping them get the final lists together. But even as we’re waiting for the paperwork to come through, Gove is out there threatening us in public.”
Matthew Pennycook, the shadow housing minister, said: “Labour wants to see every developer sign the remediation contract and then move urgently to fix the unsafe buildings for which they are responsible, and free trapped leaseholders.
“But the disarray we’ve seen this week from Michael Gove’s department raises serious questions about the government’s ability to deliver on a contract, which in any case will not even force developers to repair every fire-safety building defect set out in legislation.”
