Scottish Safer Buildings Accord: developer commitment letter

Overview

On 12 May 2022 the Cabinet Secretary set out the approach to addressing combustible cladding in multi residential buildings in Scotland. This put the safety of residents and homeowners in cladded properties at the heart of the Cladding Remediation Programme.  

Our approach is based on collaboration and agreement to create an Accord that helps resolve the issues of combustible cladding on high rise multi occupancy buildings fairly and equitably. This has been welcomed by stakeholders.  

The collaborative nature of the accord aims to achieve a healthy balance between what homeowners need and what developers can do. We will use the Single Building Assessment as a starting point for remediation to create a uniform transparent approach to fixing buildings.  

As of 2 June 2023, 9 wave one developers have signed in principle to the accord process, these developers are those we worked with initially.  In addition one large Scottish only based developer has also signed.   

These 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 Scotland.  

This agreement was reached following positive and constructive discussions with Homes for Scotland and these initial developers and will protect homeowners from the costs of remediation of life-critical fire safety defects.  

The next step is to negotiate and agree a legally binding long form contract. Developers will be asked to sign that legally binding contract reflecting this accord and its principles, and to engage with homeowners in affected buildings about how they will meet their commitments.  

The work does not stop here. The Scottish Government is fully committed to ensuring that all developers take responsibility. We will continue our discussions beyond wave one cohort of developers.  

See the list of developers who have signed the accord with a commitment to meet their developer responsibilities.  

We will continue to urge those developers who have not yet signed the accord to do the right thing for homeowners.  

For the first wave of the Accord our discussions have focused on developers who operate across the UK and who have signed the UK Government Pledge, however we will welcome any developer who wishes to sign the voluntary agreement to the Scottish safer buildings accord process. Subsequent waves will focus on those developers outwith wave one, including SMEs.