The Government's long-awaited Remediation Bill is expected to play a central role in the next phase of building safety reform, introducing tougher enforcement powers, new remediation obligations and greater accountability for those responsible for unsafe buildings. Yet, despite being announced almost two years ago, many details remain unclear.
In this update, we separate confirmed proposals from speculation, examine the recent Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill debate, and consider what stakeholders can expect from the Government's forthcoming legislation.
What is the status of the Government's Remediation Bill?
The Government's Remediation Bill was first announced in the Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) in December 2024 and its July 2025 update. It was subsequently featured in the King's Speech on 13 May 2026.
However, at present we have not seen any drafts of the Government's Remediation Bill, and it has no confirmed introduction date beyond "when parliamentary time allows."
The limited information we have about the Government's Bill comes from the RAP, the debate concerning the private members' bill (discussed further below), which is currently at the second stage of its passage through the House of Lords, and a Westminster Hall debate that took place on 15 September 2026.
The Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill was published in June 2026. Is this the bill we’ve been waiting for?
In short, no.
The Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill [HL] (HL Bill 18 of 2026–27) is a Private Member's Bill sponsored by Baroness Pinnock (Liberal Democrat). The Bill was introduced and received its First Reading on 9 June 2026. It received its Second Reading in the House of Lords on 11 September 2026, following which it was committed to a Committee of the Whole House.
As a Private Member's Bill without Government support, its prospects of reaching the statute book in its current form are limited. However, the recent House of Lords debate demonstrated unanimous cross-party support for the underlying principles, and several speakers explicitly urged the Government to incorporate the Bill's strongest features into its own forthcoming legislation.
Baroness Pinnock, who sponsors the private members' bill, outlined its key proposals, including that:
- All leaseholders would be covered by the bill, whatever the height of their building. This would mean that leaseholders in low rise flats would also be protected from any costs incurred in respect of the remediation of building safety defects, and would have a legal route to recouping any costs already charged.
- Highly prescriptive remediation deadlines, such as a requirement for a remediation plan within 28 days of the BSR confirming defects, and deadlines of 24 months for standard completion and 6 months for urgent defects.
- An expanded scope which would cover all "systemic defects" - not just cladding but also structural deficiencies, lack of fire stopping, compartmentation failures, etc.
Has the Government made any formal statement on the proposals in that private members' bill, or given any indication as to whether it might progress?
In the House of Lords debate on 11 September, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed that the Government shares the Bill's objectives but stated that the Government "are unable to support the Bill". She confirmed that the Government:
- Is "committed in our manifesto to accelerating remediation, making those responsible pay and better protecting leaseholders from costs through the remediation acceleration plan."
- will "seek to address these issues through legislation and wider work within the department, which will happen - in response to the noble Lord, Lord Young - when parliamentary time allows."
She expressed concerns about some of the proposals set out in the private members' bill, for example potential unintended consequences of extending the regime to ground-floor and lower-rise flats, potentially rendering them unmortgageable. She noted that "the Government are considering how we can go further to protect leaseholders from current and future building safety issues, particularly groups not covered by existing protections."
What do we know about the likely scope and content of the Government's Remediation Bill?
Based on the RAP and the recent parliamentary debate, we understand that key features of the Government's Bill are expected to include:
- A "Legal Duty to Remediate" on landlords, with strict deadlines: end of 2029 for buildings of 18 metres or more, and end of 2031 for buildings of 11-18 metres.
- Criminal penalties (unlimited fines and/or imprisonment) for landlords who fail to remediate without reasonable excuse.
- A Remediation Backstop empowering Homes England and local authorities to carry out works directly where landlords fail, with costs recovered from the landlord.
- Strengthened provisions to enable cost recovery from construction product manufacturers.
The scope of the Government's Bill is primarily focused on unsafe cladding on buildings of 11 metres or more, although new targeted funding has been announced for buildings under 11 metres through an extension of the Cladding Safety Scheme (applications open until 9 October 2026).
In the Westminster Hall debate on 15 September 2026, it was also confirmed by the Government spokesperson that, following publication of an updated PAS 9980:2026, the "Remediation Bill will mandate how external wall assessments are carried out, to align with our best practice remediation programmes and ensure a nationally consistent approach to remediation work. It will also establish mandatory auditing of fire risk appraisals of external walls in law."
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