The plan, due to be published today (2 December) sets target dates for making buildings safe, in the wake of 2017’s Grenfell Tower disaster in London, which killed 72 people.

While 95% of buildings with the same cladding that featured on Grenfell Tower have been remediated, only 30% of buildings in England identified as having some form of unsafe cladding have had it removed and replaced, with potentially thousands more buildings yet to be identified.

In addition to setting a deadline for remediation, the new plan will propose to introduce tougher penalties for refusing to act: The deadlines are:

• By the end of 2029, all 18m+ (high-rise) buildings with unsafe cladding in a government-funded scheme will have been remediated. â€�
• By the end of 2029, every 11m+ building with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated, have a date for completion, or the landlords will be liable for severe penalties.â€�

The Ministry for Housing said the plan would be backed by increased investment in enforcement so that local authorities, fire and rescue authorities, and the Building Safety Regulator are able to tackle hundreds of cases a year.

The government also said it would publish a joint action plan with developers to accelerate their work to fix buildings for which they are responsible.

High rise residential building of flats with cladding being replaced with fire resistant materials (Image: Richard Johnson via AdobeStock - stock.adobe.com)

At least 29 developers, covering over 95% of the buildings which developers are remediating themselves, have committed to more than doubling the rate at which they have been assessing and starting to fix unsafe buildings, meaning work on all their buildings will start by summer 2027.

The plan follows the publication of the full Grenfell Tower Inquiry report in September. The government said it is considering the Phase 2 report of the Inquiry and will provide an update on our progress by March 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “More than seven years on from the Grenfell tragedy, thousands of people have been left living in homes across this country with dangerous cladding.

“The pace of remediation has been far too slow for far too long. We are taking decisive action to right this wrong and make homes safe.

“Our Remediation Acceleration Plan will ensure those responsible for making buildings safe deliver the change residents need and deserve.�