Research and analysis

​​Building Safety Remediation: monthly data release - October 2023

Published 16 November 2023

Applies to England

Date of next publication: 9.30am on 21 December 2023

From October 2023 onwards the Building Safety Remediation data release includes data on buildings in the Building Safety Fund, Cladding Safety Scheme, developer remediation contract and reported by registered providers of social housing, as well as high-rise buildings with ACM cladding systems. Previous versions of the data release have only included data on high-rise buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations, with data on buildings in the Building Safety Fund published separately.

Headlines

Overall remediation

At the end of October 2023, there are 3,797 residential buildings 11 metres and over in height identified with unsafe cladding whose remediation progression is being reported on in this release, an increase of 2,195 since the end of December 2022.

Overall, 1,512 buildings (40%) have either started or completed remediation works. Of these, 703 buildings (19%) have completed remediation works. The total number of buildings reported to have started or completed has remediation works has doubled since the end of December 2022.

Figure 1: Of the 3,797 buildings identified with unsafe cladding, 1,512 (40%) have started or completed remediation works, of which 703 (19%) have completed remediation works. This includes for the first time remediation progress on buildings mid-rise (11-18m) in height, as well as further identified high-rise (18m+) buildings.

Note: Up to October 2023 combined remediation progress in the Building Safety Fund (BSF) and ACM programme is shown. Between June 2023 and September 2023 there was a decrease in the number of buildings due to buildings transferring from the BSF to being remediated by developers. From October 2023 onwards combined remediation progress is shown across the BSF, ACM programme, Cladding Safety Scheme, developer remediation contract and as reported by registered providers of social housing. The total number of buildings does not sum to the total number of buildings reported in each respective section of the data release due to crossover between schemes.

ACM remediation

As at 31 October 2023, of the 495 high-rise (18 metres and over in height) residential and publicly owned buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations, 473 (96%) have either started or completed remediation works, an increase of one since the end of September.

Of these, 422 buildings (85%) have completed ACM remediation, including those awaiting building control sign-off, no change since the end of September.

There are 22 buildings yet to start ACM remediation (4% of all buildings), an increase of two buildings since the end of September. Two buildings are vacant and so do not pose a risk to resident safety, 15 buildings have forecast start dates and four without a start forecast have had local authority enforcement action taken against them.

Building Safety Fund (BSF)

As at 31 October 2023, of the 976 high-rise (18 metres and over in height) residential buildings proceeding with an application for funding through the Building Safety Fund, 260 buildings (27%) have started remediation works and 199 buildings (20%) have completed remediation on unsafe non-ACM cladding.

Overall, 459 high-rise buildings (47%) in the BSF have either started or completed remediation works on non-ACM cladding, an increase of 16 since the end of September. Of these, 199 buildings (19% of buildings) have completed remediation works, an increase of 14 since the end of September.

Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS)

As at 31 October, 557 buildings 11 metres and over in height have live applications with the Cladding Safety Scheme, which launched fully in July 2023.

This is in addition to over 1,400 buildings in the pipeline that are being investigated, and where within programme parameters, are being brought into the application process.

Of the 557 applications, 48 have progressed at pace through eligibility checks and have signed grant funding agreements in place or are in the process of doing so.

The 6 most advanced applications have reached the stage of assembling a works package.

Developer remediation

As at 31 October 2023, 1,342 buildings 11 metres and over in height have been identified as having life-critical fire safety risks which developers have committed to remediate or pay to remediate, including cladding and non-cladding defects.

Of these, developers reported that 473 (35%) have either started or completed remediation works, including 262 (20% of buildings) which have completed remediation works.

When excluding buildings reported with only non-cladding defects, there are 1,270 buildings which developers have reported as having unsafe cladding, of which 444 (35%) are reported to have started or completed remediation, including 244 (19% of buildings) which are reported to have completed remediation.

Social housing sector

As at 31 August 2023, a survey of registered providers of social housing’s building stock has identified 1608 buildings 11 metres and over in height as having unsafe cladding. Of these, providers have reported that 500 (31%) have either started or completed remediation works, including 106 (7% of buildings) which have completed remediation.

Enforcement

As at 31 October 2023, local authority enforcement action has been, or is being, taken under the Housing Act 2004 against 257 high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding.

Introduction

This Data Release provides data on:

• Remediation progress across DLUHC’s Building Safety Remediation portfolio, covering buildings in the ACM programme, Building Safety Fund, Cladding Safety Scheme, developer remediation contract and reported by Registered Providers of social housing
• Progress with remediation of high-rise (18 metres and over in height) residential buildings (including student accommodation and hotels) and publicly owned buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations in the ACM programme
• Progress with remediation of high-rise residential buildings with non-ACM cladding systems assessed as eligible for funding from the Building Safety Fund
• Progress with the applications for and remediation of medium-rise (11 – 18 metres in height) residential buildings in England and high-rise residential buildings outside of London with non-ACM cladding systems in the Cladding Safety Scheme
• Progress of remediation of residential buildings 11 metres and over in height with critical fire safety risks under the developer remediation contract
• Progress of remediation of residential buildings 11 metres and over in height with unsafe cladding reported by Registered Providers of social housing
• Enforcement action taken by local authorities against high-rise residential buildings with unsafe cladding under the Housing Act 2004.

From October 2023 onwards the Building Safety Remediation data release includes data on buildings in the Building Safety Fund, Cladding Safety Scheme, developer remediation contract and reported by Registered Providers of Social Housing, as well as high-rise buildings with ACM cladding systems. Previous versions of the data release have only included data on high-rise buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations, with data on buildings in the Building Safety Fund published separately.

Since April 2023, the management information tables published alongside the data release have included a table on combined remediation progress in the ACM programme and BSF, accounting for buildings that are eligible for both programmes.

In Figure 1 in this data release, up to October 2023 the data includes the combined remediation progress in the ACM programme and BSF. From October 2023 onwards, the data in Figure 1 and the Overall remediation progress section of the data release, shows the combined remediation progress across DLUHC’s Building Safety Remediation portfolio, covering buildings and accounting for crossover in the ACM programme, Building Safety Fund, Cladding Safety Scheme, developer remediation contract and reported by Registered Providers of social housing.

The figures in this publication are correct as at the specified dates. Remediation progress on the ACM programme, BSF and CSS will be updated monthly, and remediation progress on the developer remediation contract and registered providers of social housing will be updated quarterly.

Enquiries

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User engagement

We are committed to improving and broadening this data release further in the months ahead and would welcome feedback both on the revised content of this data release and what could be further done in the future. Please contact [email protected]

Building Safety overview

The government has made ground-breaking reforms to building and fire safety legislation and is making good progress in dealing with the legacy of unsafe cladding in England to make homes safe. All residential buildings above 11 metres in England have a pathway to fix unsafe cladding, either through a taxpayer-funded scheme or through a developer-funded scheme, protecting leaseholders from these costs. 

Building owners and the industry that constructed and profited from the defective buildings have a responsibility to make sure these buildings are safe. 51 developers have taken responsibility for fixing life-critical fire safety defects arising from design or construction by signing the developer remediation contract, committing to fix or pay to fix residential buildings in England at an estimated cost to themselves of £2.7 billion. The Responsible Actors Scheme has been established to monitor the progress made by responsible developers in identifying and remediating buildings. 41 developers have already joined the Scheme and any eligible developer who fails to comply with the terms of the developer remediation contract will be subject to significant prohibitions.

The government has committed £5.1 billion to address unsafe cladding on residential buildings where developers or building owners are not currently doing so. The government is prioritising the highest-risk buildings – high-rise buildings with unsafe, ‘Grenfell-style’ Aluminium Composite Material cladding – and has almost finished the ACM programme. Relevant high-rise residential buildings with other forms of unsafe cladding are remediated through the Building Safety Fund. After a pilot in autumn 2022, the full opening of the Cladding Safety Scheme in July 2023 marked the culmination of extensive work to ensure that medium-rise buildings have a pathway towards remediation. The Scheme is also open to new applications for 18m+ buildings outside of London. All eligible applications to the Building Safety Fund received before 9 May 2023 will continue through the Fund.

Registered providers of social housing are responsible for making sure their buildings are made safe in a proportionate and timely way. The Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund has funded the remediation of ACM cladding on social housing buildings. The BSF and CSS for 11m+ buildings with other forms of unsafe cladding is open to registered providers to provide funding equivalent to the amount which the registered provider would otherwise be entitled to pass on to leaseholders; or where remediation would render the owner financially unviable. A number of social housing buildings are also expected to be remediated by the original developers under the terms of developer remediation contracts.

This data release publishes data across all the above remediation activities to give an overview of the progress made to remediate unsafe cladding on residential buildings over 11m in England. Developers send the department regular updates on the progress of remediation on those buildings. This data release also includes data on how each developer is performing against their contractual commitments.

Overall remediation progress

Figure 2: 1,512 residential buildings have started or completed remediation on unsafe cladding, of which 703 (19%) have completed remediation works.

Remediation Stage	Number of buildings	Percentage	Cumulative Number	Cumulative Percentage
In programme	2285	60%	2285	60%
Remediation underway	809	21%	3094	81%
Remediation complete	703	19%	3797	100%
Total	3797	100%	3797	100%

Table 1: Remediation progress for buildings monitored by DLUHC in the ACM programme, Building Safety Fund, the CSS, the developer remediation contract, and social housing surveys, England, 31 October 2023

Overall remediation: key statistics

Of the 3,797 residential buildings 11 metres and over in height with unsafe cladding DLUHC are monitoring, as at 31 October 2023:

• 703 buildings (19%) have completed remediation, including those awaiting building control sign off
• 809 building (21%) have started remediation
• 2,285 buildings (60%) have not started remediation

Since the end of December 2022:

• DLUHC is monitoring the remediation progress of 2,195 more buildings, largely due to the opening of new programmes and new data reporting on the CSS, developer-led remediation, and from social housing registered providers.
• 763 more buildings are known to have started or completed remediation, of which 255 more buildings are known to have completed remediation.

Figure 3: Remediation progress differs across the programmes due to the differing maturity of the schemes.

ACM remediation

Figure 4: 96% of the 495 identified ACM clad high-rise buildings have started or completed remediation, with 93% having had their ACM cladding removed and 85% having completed remediation.

Remediation Stage	Number of buildings	Percentage	Cumulative number	Cumulative Percentage
Remediation Complete	369	75%	369	75%
Remediation Complete awaiting building control sign off	53	11%	422	85%
Remediation started – cladding removed	38	8%	460	93%
Remediation started	13	3%	473	96%
Remediation plans in place	15	3%	488	99%
Intent to remediate	3	1%	491	99%
Remediation plan unclear	4	1%	495	100%
Total	495	100%	495	100%

Table 2: Remediation status of buildings with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations, 31 October 2023

ACM Remediation: key statistics

As at 31 October 2023, DLUHC has identified 495 high-rise residential and publicly owned buildings identified with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations, an increase of three since the end of September.

• 422 buildings (85% of all buildings) have completed ACM remediation - no change since the end of September. Of these, 369 buildings (75% of all buildings) have received building control sign off - no change since the end of September.
• 473 buildings (96% of all buildings) have started or completed ACM remediation - an increase of one since the end of September. Of these, 460 buildings (93% of all buildings) have removed ACM cladding - an increase of one since the end of September.

There are an estimated 22,000 – 24,500 dwellings in occupied private and social sector buildings that have completed remediation, and a further 9,000 – 9,900 dwellings in occupied private and social sector buildings that have yet to be fully remediated.

Driving ACM remediation forward

There are 22 buildings yet to start ACM remediation (4% of all buildings) – an increase of 2 buildings since the end of September. Two buildings are vacant and so do not pose a risk to resident safety.

Remediation Stage	All occupied buildings yet to start remediation	Of which:
		Enforcement action	Enforcement action supported by JIT	Forecast start available	Forecast to start by the end of December 2023
Total	20	15	10	15	6

Table 3: Enforcement action and forecast start dates for occupied high-rise buildings yet to start ACM remediation, 31 October 2023

Of the 20 high-rise occupied buildings yet to start ACM remediation:

• Six buildings are forecast to start works on ACM systems by the end of December 2023
• A further 9 buildings are forecast to start works by the end of March 2024
• A further 4 buildings without a start forecast have had local authority enforcement action taken against them
• The remaining building has a remediation plan in place

These forecast estimates are based on information provided by building owners and agents and are expected to change as further information is received. These estimates can also change as a result of buildings being newly identified. The Department continues to engage with building owners to start remediation works on site as soon as possible, and will continue to support local authorities and fire and rescue services in the use of their enforcement powers.

Figure 5: 97% of buildings are forecast to have started or completed ACM remediation works by the end of December 2023, with 95% estimated to be de-risked and 89% estimated to have completed remediation

ACM remediation progress by year of identification

Figure 6: 97% of buildings identified at 31 December 2021 have started or completed remediation compared to 96% of all buildings in the programme.

Since 31 December 2021, 14 further high-rise residential buildings have been identified with ACM cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations and have moved into scope of the Building Safety Programme. Of these, six buildings were identified in 2022, and eight so far this year – an increase of three since the end of September.

ACM remediation by sector

Figure 7: 100% of the 161 social sector residential buildings in the ACM programme have started remediation, compared to 92% the 237 private sector residential buildings.

Building Safety Fund

Figure 8: 47% of buildings proceeding with an application for funding in the BSF have started or completed remediation, with 20% having completed remediation.

Remediation Stage	Number of buildings	Percentage	Cumulative Number	Cumulative Percentage
Remediation Complete	124	13%	124	13%
Remediation Complete awaiting building control sign off	75	8%	199	20%
Remediation started	260	27%	459	47%
Remediation plans in place	203	21%	662	68%
Intent to remediate	314	32%	976	100%
Total	976	100%	976	100%

Table 4: Remediation status of buildings within the Building Safety Fund, 31 October 2023

BSF remediation: key statistics

Of the 976 buildings proceeding with an application for funding, 459 buildings (47%) have either started or completed remediation works – an increase of 16 since the end of September.

Of the 459 buildings that have started or completed remediation as at 31 October 2023:

• 199 buildings (20%) have completed remediation - an increase of 14 since the end of September. Of these, 124 buildings (13%) have received building control sign off
• 459 buildings (47%) have started or completed remediation - an increase of 16 since the end of September.

There are 517 buildings that have not started remediation, of these:

• 203 have plans in place for remediation

There are an estimated 86,000 dwellings in buildings that are proceeding with an application for funding in the BSF.

BSF remediation progress over time

Figure 9: 116 more buildings proceeding with an application for funding in the BSF have started or completed remediation since the end of 2022.

BSF remediation by tenure

Figure 10: 61% of social sector buildings in the BSF have started or completed remediation compared to 44% of private sector buildings

Cladding Safety Scheme

Figure 11: There are almost 1,000 buildings at different stages of the Cladding Safety Scheme, including 557 buildings with live applications

Remediation Stage	Number of buildings	Percentage	Cumulative Number	Cumulative Percentage
Remediation Complete	0	0%	0	0%
Works started	0	0%	0	0%
In Programme	48	100%	48	100%
Total	48	100%	48	100%

Table 5: Remediation status for buildings within the Cladding Safety Scheme, 31 October 2023

Cladding Safety Scheme: Key statistics

As at the end of October 2023, there were almost 1,000 buildings in the different stages of the Cladding Safety Scheme. Of these:

• 429 buildings are in the pre-application stage.
• 557 buildings have a live application and are progressing at pace through the eligibility stages.

There are 48 eligible buildings in programme as at the end of October 2023:

• 42 buildings have been issued or have signed Grant Funding Agreements in place with those eligible receiving pre tender support.
• 6 buildings are assembling or preparing to assemble a works package to complete the remediation works required.

A further 1,000 buildings are being investigated to establish whether they can start the pre-application process.

Height breakdown

Figure 12: Of the 48 eligible buildings in the CSS, 43 are 11-18m and 5 are 18m+

Tenure breakdown

Figure 13: Of the 48 eligible buildings in the CSS, 42 are private sector buildings and 6 are social sector buildings

Developer remediation

Figure 14: 35% of buildings in the developer remediation contract have either started or completed remediation works on life-critical fire safety risks, with 20% having completed remediation works.

Remediation Stage	Number of buildings	Percentage	Cumulative Number	Cumulative Percentage
Remediation complete	262	20%	262	20%
Remediation started	211	16%	473	35%
Remediation not started – plans in place	506	38%	979	73%
Remediation not started – no plans in place	363	27%	1342	100%
Total	1342	100%	1342	100%

Table 6: Remediation status of buildings requiring works under the developer remediation contract, 31 October 2023

Developer remediation: key statistics

Of the 1,342 buildings identified as having life-critical fire safety risks that will be remediated by developers:

• 262 (20%) are reported to have completed remediation
• 473 (35%) are reported to have started or completed remediation
• 506 (38%) are reported to have not started remediation but have plans in place.

The 1,342 buildings identified as requiring remediation have an estimated cost of remediation of around £2.7 billion.

There are an estimated 90,000 dwellings in buildings with defects that developers are committed to remediate. Of these, there are an estimated 32,000 dwellings in buildings that are reported as having either started or completed remediation works.

Based on start and completion dates reported by developers, 425 buildings are expected to start works and 160 buildings are expected to complete their remediation between 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024.

Height breakdown

Figure 15: 39% of the 18m+ buildings have started or completed remediation, compared to 29% of the 11-18m buildings

Cladding defects

Not all remediation being undertaken by developers on buildings with life-critical fire safety risks are regarding cladding defects. When excluding buildings reported with only non-cladding defects, there are 1,270 buildings which developers have reported as having unsafe cladding. Of these:

• 244 (19%) are reported to have completed remediation
• 444 (35%) are reported to have started or completed remediation
• 477 (38%) are reported to have not started remediation but have plans in place.

Self-reported information

The figures reported for developers above combine information received directly from developers as well as information held by the department regarding additional buildings that require or previously required remediation work. Developers have self-reported that 1,166 buildings require remediation to life-critical fire safety risks and of those 1,032 buildings will be directly remediated by the developer. Of these:

• 153 buildings (15%) have completed remediation
• 295 buildings (29%) have started or completed remediation
• 455 buildings (44%) have not started remediation but have a plan in place

Further information on the progress developers have made regarding the buildings they’ve reported on is available in the accompanying management information tables.

Social Housing Sector

Figure 16: 31% of buildings reported by Registered Providers to have unsafe cladding have started or completed remediation works, with 7% having completed remediation works.

Remediation Stage	Number of buildings	Percentage	Cumulative Buildings	Cumulative Percentage
Remediation complete	106	7%	106	7%
Remediation started	394	25%	500	31%
Remediation works planned	591	37%	1091	68%
Remediation plans unclear from survey	510	32%	1601	100%
Work is not required – planned for demolition	7	0%	1608	100%
Total	1608	100%	100%	100%

Table 7: Remediation status of buildings with unsafe cladding reported by Registered Providers of social housing, 31 October 2023

Social Housing Remediation: key statistics:

1,503 Registered Providers of Social Housing were invited over the summer of 2023 to respond to a survey on their 11m+ stock. So far, 88% of Registered Providers have responded.

As reported in the surveys submitted at aggregate level across the respondents, 1,608 buildings were reported to have unsafe cladding.

Of the 1,608 buildings reported to have unsafe cladding:

• 106 buildings (7%) are reported to have completed remediation
• 500 buildings are reported to have started or completed remediation (31%)
• 591 buildings are reported to have not started remediation but have plans in place (37%).
• 7 buildings are reported as not requiring work are buildings planned for demolition (<1%).

Height breakdown

Figure 17: 34% of the 18m+ buildings reported to have unsafe cladding by the registered providers of social housing have started or completed remediation, compared to 28% of the 11-18m buildings.

Enforcement

Local authority enforcement action: key statistics

As of 31 October 2023, enforcement action has been, or is being, taken under the Housing Act against:

• 257 high-rise buildings with unsafe cladding – an increase of 3 since the end of September
• including 100 buildings with Joint Inspection Team support – an increase of 3 since the end of September

Of the 257 buildings where a local authority had undertaken an inspection, we are aware that:

• 62 had a Category 1 HHSRS rating
• 162 buildings had a Category 2 HHSRS rating.

Of the 257 cases, we are aware that at least 81 improvement notices, 24 hazard awareness notices and 1 prohibition order have been served to date. We understand that 14 of the 81 improvement notices have been subject to appeals.

Accompanying tables 

Commencing this month, DLUHC has additionally published a larger amount of 32 management information tables.

The tables provide data on:

• the remediation progress of high-rise (18 metres and over) residential buildings identified with unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems,
• the remediation progress of high-rise residential buildings with unsafe non-ACM cladding systems that are pursuing successful applications from their Building Safety Fund (BSF) Registration,
• data on buildings in the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS),
• the remediation progress of buildings covered by the developer remediation contract, including a developer-by-developer breakdown,
• the remediation progress of buildings monitored under the social housing survey,
• the progress of the Waking Watch Relief Fund and Waking Watch Replacement Fund, and
• building safety enforcement action undertaken by Local Authorities in England.

Related Statistics 

BRE Testing

Previously, DLUHC published a table on samples received by BRE for testing which has been discontinued as of October 2019 (see Technical Notes). The data table of descriptions of large-scale system tests undertaken by the BRE and the number of buildings with similar cladding systems was discontinued in November 2020.

Developer Data 

DLUHC has published data provided by developers who have signed the developer remediation contract. This release provides information on the number of buildings in scope of the contract, assessments in place, number of buildings requiring remediation works and status of those works by developer.

English Housing Survey: Feeling Safe from Fire

DLUHC has published the English Housing Survey 2020 to 2021: Feeling Safe from Fire report, providing information on the extent to which people feel safe from fire in their homes.

Estimating the prevalence and costs of external wall system life-safety fire risk in mid-rise residential buildings

DLUHC has published data on the prevalence of external wall system life-safety fire risk in mid-rise (11-18m) residential buildings in England, and the estimated cost as at July 2021 to remediate or mitigate these buildings.

EWS1 requirements on residential buildings in England

DLUHC has published information on estimates of EWS1 requirements on residential buildings in England, including indicative analysis on the cladding coverage of residential buildings and the number of leasehold dwellings in those buildings.

EWS1 (or equivalent) lender data on mortgage valuation for flats

DLUHC publishes quarterly data on the numbers of EWS1 forms (or equivalent) that have been required on mortgage valuations for flats.

Population and Dwelling Numbers

Previously, DLUHC published estimates on population and dwelling numbers of residential buildings in the Building Safety Programme data release. Should these figures change, DLUHC will publish a new update.

Waking Watch costs

On 16 October 2020, DLUHC published information on Waking Watch costs based on data collected through a range of external stakeholders from July to September 2020.

RSH publication

On 16 November 2023, the Regulator of Social Housing published findings from the Fire Safety Remediation Survey (FRS) for buildings 11 metres and over in height, which opened to all landlords on 23 August 2023 and closed on 15 September 2023.

Technical note 

Please see the accompanying technical notes document for further details.