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<p>Last year 49 of the largest housebuilders signed a public pledge committing to
fix life-critical fire safety defects in residential buildings 11 metres or more in
height which they developed or refurbished in England over the last 30 years. 48 developers
have since signed the developer remediation contract giving legal effect to those
commitments. Where a developer cannot be identified, traced or held responsible for
remediating the building, or has not yet agreed to pay for their own buildings, the
Building Safety Fund is available to ensure that eligible buildings over 18 metres
are made safe. The Government has also launched a new scheme to provide funding for
the remediation or mitigation of the fire safety risks linked to external wall system
defects on medium-rise buildings (11-18 metres) where a responsible developer cannot
be identified, traced or held responsible.</p><p>The Building Safety Act protects
leaseholders from costs associated with remediating historical building safety defects
by capping or preventing altogether the costs that can be recovered through the service
charge. Where work is not funded by a responsible developer or grant, the Act makes
clear that any remediation costs which the Act prevents being passed on to leaseholders
must be met by building owners. Any building owners who refuse to meet costs for which
they are now liable under the Act are acting unlawfully.</p><p>The Act grants new
enforcement powers to regulatory bodies, the Secretary of State, and leaseholders,
allowing them to compel building owners to fix, and pay to fix, unsafe buildings for
which they are responsible. Enforcement action will be taken against those who are
holding up remediation works, where appropriate.</p>
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