Cladding Remediation Programme: factsheet

Legislation and regulations

New legislation related to cladding

Scottish Ministers brought forward the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 to support the Programme. This was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 14 May 2024 and gained Royal Assent on 21 June 2024.

This legislation gives Ministers the powers to assess and remediate buildings within scope, as well as powers to arrange urgent works and evacuate buildings where needed. In certain circumstances Ministers can use their powers even when unable to gain consent from owners and residents.

Next steps now the Act has passed

The timeline for the Act taking legal effect (which is known as commencement) is yet to be confirmed. A plan is being developed ahead of commencement to ensure processes and guidance are in place for the powers within the Act.

How the Act will provide assurance

The Act gives powers for Scottish Ministers to establish a Cladding Assurance Register. This will include information on buildings which have been through a Single Building Assessment (SBA) and any remediation which may be required. This will give homeowners assurance on the status of their buildings, and allow mortgage and insurance providers to access information on the remediation status of a building.

A building will be entered onto the Register on completion of an SBA. This entry will be updated when Ministers are satisfied that any required works have been completed.

How the Act will keep developers accountable

The Act gives powers for Scottish Ministers to establish a Responsible Developers Scheme. The purpose this scheme will be to make provision for developers to address, or contribute towards the costs of addressing, the remediation of buildings in scope of the Act. As secondary legislation will be required, further development and consultation will be needed before the Scheme can be introduced.

The Scheme is expected to build on the requirements set out in the Developer Remediation Contract which is being developed. This will be a formal legal contract between developers and the government. It will underpin the scope, scale of assessment, and Scottish standards required for remediation and mitigation of buildings with potentially unsafe cladding.

Existing regulations for cladding

Many of the flammable and dangerous materials have been banned in Scotland since 2005 and new cladding systems on high rise flats have either had to use non-combustible materials or pass a large-scale fire test.

Amendments to the Building (Scotland) Regulations introduced further key changes to existing regulations. These included a ban on the use of highly combustible metal composite material in an external wall cladding system or used as an internal lining on any building.