From three properties to six, and a £500,000 fine for not fixing a building
What happened
On Tuesday 27 October 2026, the government announced new proposals to extend protection for people living in buildings with unsafe cladding. The announcement was made during the second reading of the Remediation of Unsafe Cladding Bill in Parliament. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner set out the changes, and the release came from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government alongside Building Safety Minister Baroness Blake of Leeds. There are five main parts. First, people who bought a flat after February 2022. Under the current rules, whether a leaseholder is protected can depend on the circumstances of whoever owned the flat on 14 February 2022. That means someone who bought later can lose out because of a previous owner. The government says it is exploring how to close that gap. Second, buildings owned collectively by their residents. Where leaseholders have bought the freehold together, there is no separate freeholder, and that technicality puts them outside the Building Safety Act's leaseholder protections. New government funding will help pay for fixing high-risk, high-cost internal fire safety defects in these buildings. Third, leaseholders who own more than one property. The current cap is three properties owned on 14 February 2022. The government plans to raise it to six, for non-cladding building safety problems. Fourth, the companies that made the products. Manufacturers of historic unsafe cladding and insulation will have to contribute more, and the government will gain powers to recover those contributions for the first time. Fifth, enforcement. The Bill creates a legal duty on those responsible to fix unsafe buildings. Failing to act carries criminal penalties and fines of up to £500,000, and authorities will be able to step in and do the work where those responsible keep refusing.
Why this matters
It is more than nine years since the Grenfell Tower fire. Many thousands of people are still living in buildings with dangerous cladding or other fire safety defects, and many have been living with the financial consequences too. Those consequences are not abstract. Flats have been unsellable. Mortgages have been refused. Service charges have jumped. Buildings insurance has risen sharply. People have paid for waking watch patrols, sometimes for years. Some have been unable to move for work, or to a bigger home when a family grew. The Building Safety Act 2022 created protections, but it drew lines. Lines create people on the wrong side of them, and the three categories in this announcement are precisely those people: later buyers, residents who collectively own their freehold, and those with a handful of properties. The fifth point, enforcement, matters for a different reason. The commonest complaint from residents has not been that nobody agreed the work was needed. It is that nothing happened. A legal duty with a £500,000 fine attached, and a power for authorities to step in, is an attempt to answer that. Baroness Blake said the government was going further to protect more homeowners from unfair costs and make construction product manufacturers contribute towards putting things right.
What the evidence actually says
This is the stage of the process where it is easy to over-read an announcement, so here is what is actually in place. The Remediation of Unsafe Cladding Bill is at second reading. That is early. A Bill at second reading has been debated in principle, not passed. It still has committee stage, report stage, third reading and the whole process in the second chamber ahead of it. Things change along the way. The measures are described in varying degrees of firmness. On later buyers, the government says it is exploring how to close the gap. That is the weakest of the five, and no mechanism has been published. On the property cap going from three to six, the government plans to do it. On funding for collectively owned buildings, new funding is promised but the amount is not stated in the announcement. On manufacturers, the release says the government will gain powers to recover contributions for the first time, but notes that details of the scheme are still to come. The release gives no count of how many buildings or homes are affected by these changes. No deadlines are set. The government says further details on eligibility, funding and the manufacturer scheme will be added as the Bill passes through Parliament or published later. The figures that are firm are the £500,000 maximum fine and the property limit rising from three to six. So: a real and specific set of proposals, with genuine enforcement teeth attached, at an early legislative stage, with several of the most important details not yet written.
Practical advice
If you live in a building with cladding or fire safety issues, here is what is worth doing now. Find out where your building stands. Your freeholder or managing agent should be able to tell you whether your building is in a remediation programme, which one, and what stage it is at. Ask in writing and keep the reply. Check whether you have a leaseholder deed of certificate and a landlord's certificate. These documents determine what you can legally be charged for under the Building Safety Act. If you have never been asked for one, raise it. If you bought your flat after 14 February 2022, this announcement is directly about you. Nothing has changed in law yet, but it is worth keeping an eye on the Bill's progress and telling your MP that it affects you. Second reading is the stage at which MPs are listening. If you are being charged for building safety works, do not assume the charge is lawful. The Leasehold Advisory Service, known as LEASE, gives free initial advice, and the First-tier Tribunal handles disputes about service charges. If you are struggling to sell or remortgage, speak to a broker who understands EWS1 forms and the current lender position. It has moved considerably in the last two years. If you have an immediate fire safety concern about your building, that is not a legal question. Contact your local fire and rescue service.
What to know
On 27 October 2026, the government set out five new proposals during the second reading of the Remediation of Unsafe Cladding Bill. They cover people who bought flats after February 2022, buildings owned collectively by residents, leaseholders with up to six properties instead of three, higher contributions from product manufacturers, and a new legal duty to fix unsafe buildings backed by fines of up to £500,000. The Bill is at an early stage. Several measures, including help for later buyers and the manufacturer contribution scheme, do not yet have published detail. No deadlines or affected-building counts were given. If this affects your home, the useful steps now are establishing your building's remediation status in writing, checking your Building Safety Act certificates, and getting free advice from LEASE before paying disputed charges. Sources: GOV.UK (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), 'More people protected as government acts to make more homes safe', 27 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-people-protected-as-government-acts-to-make-more-homes-safe ; UK Parliament, Remediation of Unsafe Cladding Bill, https://bills.parliament.uk/ ; The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), https://www.lease-advice.org/ This article is for general information and is not legal or financial advice. If your home is affected, seek advice specific to your lease and your building.
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