Guidance

Cladding Safety Scheme – Information for leaseholders and residents

Updated 5 July 2024

Applies to England

What is the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS)? 

The Cladding Safety Scheme provides funding for the remediation of unsafe cladding in England where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced, or held responsible. 

Under the Developers Pledge, many developers have committed to remediate life critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres that they have played a role in developing or refurbishing over the last 30 years in England. See the list of developers here. 

Developers making this commitment have also agreed to reimburse any funding received from government remediation programmes in relation to buildings they had a role in developing or refurbishing. 

Who can apply for funding? 

Applications for funding from the CSS must be made by the building’s Responsible Entity or their representative. The Responsible Entity is the person or organisation with legal responsibility for the repair and maintenance of the building. 

This can be the building’s: 

• freeholder 

• head leaseholder 

• right-to-manage company (RTM) 

• resident management company (RMC) or 

• registered provider of social housing such as a local authority or housing association 

I think my building should be in the Cladding Safety Scheme, what can I do? 

If you are a leaseholder or resident in a property that you are concerned about and you think that your building could be eligible, contact your Responsible Entity and encourage them to make an application. 

In addition, you can use the Tell Us Tool to provide information about your building. This will help us understand more about the buildings that could be eligible for funding and allow us to work to contact the freeholder and determine if they should apply to the Scheme. 

I’ve been informed my building is applying to the Cladding Safety Scheme. How does it work? 

There are three key stages that a building goes through in the Cladding Safety Scheme. 

Application – The applicant provides information about the building, who is responsible for maintenance of the exterior of the building, its ownership and provides a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW). We use this information to determine whether the building is eligible for funding. 

Project set-up – Once eligible, the applicant puts together the professional project team who will create a plan for the delivery of the remediation works, including determining how long it will take, and the costs involved, based on the recommendations made by the fire risk assessor in the FRAEW. The project team will also undertake the works under contract to remediate your building. 

Works delivery – Once the full works and costs have been approved, works can begin to your building. The applicant updates us monthly to confirm what’s been done and claim the related funding for that work. This continues until the remediation of your building is complete. We’ll ask for certifications to confirm that the work has been carried out, that it has been completed in line with regulatory requirements and to confirm that the fire risk to life has been reduced to an acceptable level.  

Timescales for each project are likely to vary significantly, depending on the size of the building and the amount and complexity of the works needed. The person or organisation who is the Responsible Entity for your building should make you aware of how long it will take, and when things will happen. 

How will I know what’s happening to my building? 

Communication with residents and leaseholders is a requirement of the Cladding Safety Scheme. It is a requirement of the contract the applicant signs and is built into the process from beginning to end. Applicants must send updates to residents and leaseholders throughout the project and provide us with evidence that they’ve done so.  

The requirement starts right at the beginning, in the application process, where applications cannot be submitted without proper evidence that residents have been informed of their plans to apply for funding. We continue to ask them to provide evidence of regular updates through monthly reporting and at key points in the project.  

Although the CSS does not update leaseholders and residents (that’s the job of the applicant), we do ask for your feedback at key stages of the process. The Responsible Entity should direct you to the resident survey at the relevant time.

If the person or company who is responsible for your building isn’t providing you with adequate information, or you need further details, please start by contacting them directly.  

How can I provide feedback on my experience? 

If your building has been accepted to the Cladding Safety Scheme, you can use this form to provide feedback at any stage of the process.  

At specific points in the project, including completion of work, your Responsible Entity or their representative will contact you to ask you to tell us about your experience.

Who can I contact to find out if my building has been included in the Cladding Safety Scheme?  

Speak to your Responsible Entity (that is the company or individual) that has the legal responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the exterior of your building. 

Our Responsible Entity is unwilling or unable to advise as to whether our building has been included in the Cladding Safety Scheme, who can I contact to find out? 

If you believe that your building should be included in the Cladding Safety Scheme, please tell us about your building’s unsafe cladding.

Who can I talk to get updates on the progress of our building’s application to the Cladding Safety Scheme? 

If the Responsible Entity for your building has applied for funding, it is their responsibility to keep leaseholders and residents informed throughout the application and the delivery of the remediation works. This becomes a contractual commitment once the Responsible Entity has signed the grant funding agreement.  

Where can I find out more about the Cladding Safety Scheme? 

You can read the full guidance for the Cladding Safety Scheme.