The Housing (Cladding Remediation) Scotland Act 2024 was passed in May last year and came into force on 6 Jan 2025. It allows Ministers to assess and fix buildings ‘within scope’, and to evacuate buildings if necessary. In some cases, they could use these powers without owners’ and residents’ agreement.
However, many people who live in buildings with unsafe or potentially unsafe exterior wall cladding are still waiting to hear when action will be taken to address their problems. These worried residents find the response woefully slow. Meanwhile, concerned officials point to statutory requirements and contractual negotiations which set the pace of change.
Image: Ballotbox.scot
Macpherson seeks answers
At the end of Nov, Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern & Leith, wrote on behalf of constituents to ask Paul McLennan, MSP, Minister for Housing:
When further detail/timescales on the Responsible Developers Scheme (RDS) to make developers pay some or all of the costs, and associated secondary legislation, would be provided to enable accelerated remediation.
What further communication improvements were planned to keep affected residents clearly and reliably informed.
Minister’s response
Following a meeting with Macpherson in Dec, McLennan replied to the letter on 13 Jan. He said that:
Consultation was required and ongoing about the secondary legislation which will enable the RDS to begin. He did not suggest a firm date for the RDS to start, but did reveal some developers are already engaging with homeowners in assessment and remediation. Active negotiations are in progress with those developers to conclude contracts so that work can start.
To improve communication with homeowners, residents and others, quarterly newsletters and monthly updates will be sent to those who sign up at [bit.ly/cldng]. Officials will keep owners and residents informed about Single Building Assessments (SBAs). Officials will press developers to keep locals fully informed about remediation of specific buildings.
We understand Govt officials met members of Macpherson’s team to review constituents’ concerns last month, or will do so soon.
The scale of the problem
There is no definitive figure for the number of developments affected by dangerous cladding in Edinburgh Northern & Leith, but 23 ‘pilot sites’ here have been identified for action under the RDS.
Five of these 23 have been handed over to developers, which will take ownership of the structures and progress SBAs. Remediation of one such structure will start in Q1 2025 at the latest.
Of the remaining 18 sites, one is undergoing an SBA with results expected soon, 9 belong to registered social landlords (RSLs), and the rest are neither RSLs nor have they been handed over to developers.
Macpherson has been contacted about unsafe cladding by 75 constituents since 2021. They live in around 20 developments, not all of which are included in the pilot scheme.
For a national perspective on these issues, see McLennan’s answer to a question from Fulton MacGregor, MSP here.
In Sept 2024, Diamond & Co, a firm of Glasgow-based chartered surveyors, estimated that Scotland had about 5,500 buildings taller than 11m covered in combustible cladding and that some 25k people live in such affected high-rises.