Like all Home Nations, Scotland has been developing a system to replace flammable cladding in high-rise buildings since the Grenfell Tower Fire in 2017.
In June 2024, the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 received Royal Assent which gives the Scottish government more powers to assess high-rise buildings.
The Scottish government is currently consulting on the introduction of a Building Safety Levy to fund its approach to tackle flammable cladding.
With 1,000 high rise buildings in Scotland, as well as 5,000 medium rise buildings, the Scottish government estimates it will need to raise £30m a year to cover cladding remediation.
While Propertymark has welcomed the Scottish government’s efforts to improve building safety, it is concerned that such a levy could suppress investment and housing development in the country.
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The trade group has called on the Scottish government to refrain from introducing any sector-wide tax and that the levy should be reduced or stopped once cladding is remediated, therefore incentivising its prompt removal.
“Propertymark fully supports the Scottish government’s commitment to end the country’s cladding crisis,” said Henry Griffith, policy and campaigns officer at Propertymark. “However, given the current housing challenges that affect the country, an additional tax on all new homes could worsen Scotland’s housing crisis.
“Furthermore, charges targeted at those responsible for installing the cladding in the first place would help to incentivise the quick replacement of cladding without charging developers who never installed flammable cladding in the first place.”
A similar levy is currently under technical consultation in England, launching in January 2024.
The UK government has calculated £3bn needs to be raised over the next 10 years to tackle cladding in England specifically.
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