Tue, 25 Mar 2025

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 Cladding tax on new homes delayed for a year

The delay comes after developers warned the tax could hamper the government's housebuilding plans.

* The Building Safety Levy, a tax on new homes to fund the removal of unsafe cladding, has been delayed until autumn 2026.
* The delay comes after developers warned that the tax could increase building costs and result in the government missing its target to build 1.5 million homes by 2030.
* The tax was expected to raise £3.4bn to fund building safety measures, including cladding removal, but some of the money will also come from developers paying corporation tax.
* Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said that the delay would not slow down the pace of improving building safety and that leaseholders were still trapped in unsafe buildings.
* Developers have welcomed the delay as "recognition" that the tax could constrain housing supply, with Home Builders Federation chief executive Neil Jefferson suggesting that the tax should be scrapped altogether.
* The government has set aside £5.1bn to resolve the cladding crisis, but thousands of homes remain at risk and some developers are still refusing to pay their share of the costs.
* A Home Builders Federation estimate suggests that the tax could add £1,580 to the cost of building a home and lead to the loss of about 70,000 affordable homes over 10 years.
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