Cladding Remediation Programme: factsheet

Legislation and regulations

New legislation related to cladding

The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 14 May 2024. It then gained Royal Assent on 21 June 2024 to become the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 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 after the passing of the Act

We are now required to bring forward a relatively straightforward item of additional legislation that will bring the various provisions of the Act into force. This is a standard part of the legislative process and is known as ‘commencement’.

The commencement date for the Act is Monday 6 January 2025. Once the Act has commenced, Scottish Ministers will be able to use its powers to support the delivery of the Cladding Remediation Programme.

You can find out more about how commencement works at the Scottish Parliament website.

Further legislation after commencement

In some cases the new powers in the Act will require Scottish Ministers to bring forward new legislation in order to confirm the detail of their proposals.

For example, the Act gives powers for Scottish Ministers to establish a Responsible Developers Scheme. The purpose of such a scheme would be to make provision for developers to address, or contribute towards the costs of addressing, the remediation of buildings in scope of the Act. However, the details of the scheme will first require further development and consultation with the public, before they can then be brought to the Scottish Parliament for approval.

Assurance and the passing of the Act

The Act also 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.

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.