Michael Gove and UK housebuilders in row over post-Grenfell safety fittings
A row has broken out between Michael Gove and major British housebuilders over the government’s attempts to make developers retrofit buildings with safer materials in the wake of the Grenfell fire.
The levelling up secretary has given developers in England, Scotland and Wales until Monday to sign a new contract to improve their housing stock, warning that those that miss the deadline could be banned from building UK housing.
But the Guardian has learned that only a handful of companies have signed the contract so far, with several saying they haven’t even been sent a final version by the department.
Neil Jefferson, the managing director of the Home Builders Federation, said: “UK housebuilders have demonstrated their commitment to helping leaseholders by signing the pledge and are now going through the final stages of concluding the complex contractual process set by the government.
“UK housebuilders are getting on with remediation work, and rather than attacking them on social media the government may be better focused on delivering on its promise to get contributions from other parties, including construction product companies and overseas-based developers.”
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities confirmed that the text of the main contracts had been sent to developers on 30 January, but that annexes containing lists of exactly which buildings have to be improved were still being finalised.
A spokesperson for the department said: “All developers received the final text of the contract on 30 January and several have since confirmed they will sign.
“We expect all developers to do so without delay. Those that fail to do the right thing will be banned from the housing market.”
The Grenfell fire in 2017 was the
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