The government has set out plans to extend building safety cost protections to more homeowners, according to an announcement made in Parliament on 27 October 2026. The measures were presented during the second reading of the Remediation of Unsafe Cladding Bill, which aims to speed up repairs and impose tougher penalties on those who fail to act.
Key points
- Wider leaseholder cover — people in collectively owned and enfranchised buildings will get funding for internal high-risk fire-safety defects.
- Second-home buyers — the government is exploring how to help those who miss out because of a previous owner's circumstances on 14 February 2022.
- Property limit raised — the threshold for non-cladding protections would rise from three to six properties owned on that date.
- Manufacturers to pay — construction product manufacturers linked to unsafe cladding and insulation will contribute to remediation.
Existing rules already shield many leaseholders from paying for historic safety defects, but the government says some people fall through gaps because of ownership arrangements the law does not cover. Under current rules, whether a flat is protected can depend on who owned it on 14 February 2022, meaning a later buyer can still miss out if the previous owner was ineligible.
Funding and enforcement
New funding will help pay for remediation of internal high-risk and high-cost fire-safety defects in buildings where residents collectively own the freehold. The government also intends to give itself powers to recover contributions from manufacturers at scale, and to place a legal duty on those responsible to fix unsafe buildings, with criminal penalties and fines of up to £500,000 for failures.
Building Safety Minister Baroness Blake said the measures would protect more homeowners from unfair costs and make manufacturers contribute towards putting things right. Further details on eligibility, funding and how the manufacturer scheme will work are expected as the Bill progresses through Parliament.
What it means in practice
For leaseholders, the practical effect depends on which gap they fall into and on the fine print still to come. Nothing changes overnight: the proposals need to pass through Parliament, and the detailed eligibility rules will be published later.
- Check your position — if you bought a flat as your only home and were told you are unprotected because of the previous owner, keep evidence of your circumstances and watch for the consultation details.
- Collective buildings — residents who own their freehold jointly should follow the funding plans closely, as the new support targets internal fire-safety defects.
- Multiple properties — owners of four to six properties may gain protection for non-cladding defects once the limit is raised, but only for problems they did not cause.
