Cladding Remediation Bill – Scottish Government update and Committee consultation
The Committee call for evidence will close on Friday 8 December.
The Scottish Government has published its Cladding Remediation Bill. As a next step in the legislative process, the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Committee has opened a call for views to inform their scrutiny of this proposed law.
The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill was introduced on Wednesday 1 November and seeks to give Scottish Ministers specific powers to assess and remediate buildings with unsafe cladding. Significantly, the scope of the Bill is aimed at buildings with at least one residential unit, which were constructed or refurbished between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022, are 11 metres or over in height, and which incorporate a form of external wall cladding system.
The Bill seeks to introduce a number of specific measures, including:
- The introduction of a Single-Building Assessment (SBA) for buildings with some form of external wall cladding system to identify any remediation works required.
- The creation of a Cladding Assurance Register which will contain information on those buildings which been through a SBA and details on any required remediation.
- The establishment of a Responsible Developers Scheme to encourage developers to take action on remediation works.
Detailed information about the Bill can be found on the Scottish Parliament website at: Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill – Bills (proposed laws) – Scottish Parliament | Scottish Parliament Website
The Committee is seeking views on the Bill, particularly around the impact of Cladding Assurance Register on the ability to buy, sell and insure properties with potentially unsafe cladding; the introduction of powers to provide access to properties without the consent of the owner (provided notice periods have elapsed) to undertake works; and the potential effectiveness of a Responsible Developers Scheme.
The Committee call for evidence will close on Friday 8 December, and the consultation questions can be found online at: Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill - Scottish Parliament - Citizen Space
If you have any questions, or if you would like to feed into the SFHA response, please contact eharji@sfha.co.uk