A total of 43 developers have now signed the self-remediation terms and deed of bilateral contract, a 112-page documents obliging signatories to fix fire safety related 聽defects on any building over 18 metres high they had built or refurbished since 1992.
Michael Gove, secretary of state at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, wrote to developers on 30th January giving them a deadline of 13th March to sign the contract or face unspecified consequences.
By 13th March, 39 companies had signed. (See our previous report for the full list.)
Michael Gove said at that time: 鈥淭o those developers that have failed to sign the contract without good reason, let me be very clear 鈥� we are coming after you. If you do not sign, you will not be able to operate freely in the housing market. Your investors will see that your business model is broken 鈥� only responsible developers are welcome here.鈥�
Telford Homes, London Square and Ballymore subsequently signed within the days that followed. Lendlease has now signed too, becoming the 43rd signatory.
This just leaves seven refuseniks:
- Abbey Developments
- Avant
- Galliard
- Dandara
- Emerson Group (Jones Homes)
- Inland Homes
- Rydon Homes.
A spokesperson for Lendlease said: 鈥淎s a responsible global developer and investor we鈥檝e always maintained that leaseholders shouldn鈥檛 be held liable for remediation costs and advocated for an industry wide solution encompassing all of the supply chain.鈥�
鈥淲e recently announced a 拢114m provision to pay for remediation on affected buildings, most of which were inherited through our purchase of Crosby Homes in 2005 and have set up a dedicated team which is working with building owners to assess and resolve these issues.鈥�
鈥淥ur board met this week and confirmed the company has signed up to the UK government鈥檚 developer remediation contract. This decision follows a thorough and diligent corporate governance process to ensure it has been given the detailed consideration it deserves in the context of our global business.鈥�
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