Following prolonged discussions between the Scottish Government, Homes for Scotland (a membership body for housing developers) and other partner organisations, to identify potential solutions for residential buildings affected by cladding issues, the Scottish Government has announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with key residential developers for the removal of unsafe cladding from residential buildings in Scotland.

Although full details of the agreement have not yet been released, it is expected that under the agreement the developers responsible for the construction of a relevant residential building will be obliged to rectify life critical fire safety defects in that building. It is understood that the agreement will apply to multi-occupancy residential buildings over 11 metres tall which were built during the past 30 years and that circa 105 residential buildings are likely to be caught by the agreement. 

Steps are now being taken to but in place legally binding contracts between the Scottish Government and the relevant housing developers for the remediation of unsafe cladding in the relevant buildings, with Barratt Developments becoming the first major house-builder to publicly announce that it will voluntarily sign the contract.

In the event that developers do not sign the contract, the Scottish Government has not ruled out imposing further “legislative options to safeguard residents and homeowners” beyond the current proposals.

We will continue to monitor developments in this area as the Scottish Government further maps out its strategy for remediating unsafe cladding, and fire safety defects, in residential buildings in Scotland.

This article was written by Tom Weld, Claire Logue and Clare Livingston.