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Gove and UK housebuilders in row over post-Grenfell

A row has broken out between Michael Gove and major British housebuilders over the government’s attempts to make developers retrofit buildings with safer materials after the Grenfell fire.

The levelling up secretary has given developers in England, Scotland and Wales until Monday to sign a new contract to improve their housing stock, warning that those that miss the deadline could be banned from building UK housing.

But The Guardian has learned that only a handful of companies have signed the contract so far, with several saying the department hasn’t even sent them a final version.

Neil Jefferson, the managing director of the Home Builders Federation, said: “UK housebuilders have demonstrated their commitment to helping leaseholders by signing the pledge and are now going through the final stages of concluding the complex contractual process set by the government.

“UK housebuilders are getting on with remediation work. Rather than attacking them on social media, the government may be better focused on delivering on its promise to get contributions from other parties, including construction product companies and overseas-based developers.”

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed that the text of the main contracts had been sent to developers on 30 January but that annexes containing lists of exactly which buildings must be improved were still being finalised.

A spokesperson for the department said: “All developers received the final text of the contract on 30 January, and several have since confirmed they will sign.

“We expect all developers to do so without delay. Those that fail to do the right thing will be banned from the housing market.”

The Grenfell fire in 2017 was the deadliest UK fire in 30 years, killing 72 people. An investigation afterwards found that Grenfell and many other tower blocks in the country had been clad with dangerously combustible materials, prompting the government to pledge £5bn towards remediation.

As part of that plan, 49 housebuilders signed up to a pledge last year to spend a collective £1.3bn replacing flammable cladding or other material in any mid-rise building developed over the last 30 years in England, Scotland or Wales. However, this was short of the £4bn the government estimated would be needed.

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