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Government publishes fire risk assessment template under developer remediation contract
The government has published a new template to assist developers that have signed the remediation contract in agreeing terms with assessors on completing fire risk assessments.
Government publishes fire risk assessment template under developer remediation contract #UKhousingThe government has published a template to assist developers that have signed the remediation contract in agreeing terms with assessors on completing fire risk assessments #UKhousingThe Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) explained it has created the “off-the-shelf agreement” after developers and freeholders expressed interest in such a template in an effort to prevent delays, as well as save all parties time and money.
There is no legal requirement to use the template. It does not constitute legal advice, but does “draw on other access agreements that have been negotiated”.
The government’s building safety remediation contract, first published in January 2023, commits developers to pay for “life-critical fire safety” remediation work on blocks they built that are taller than 11 metres regardless of whether they still own them.
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A total of 53 firms have signed the government’s post-Grenfell developer remediation contract.
MHCLG said: “If a developer decides to obtain a new assessment of the building, the responsible entity should work with the participant developer to arrange rapid access to their building.
“Some developers and responsible entities have found it difficult to agree terms for the developer’s assessor to access the building and undertake an assessment. Such disagreements can result in prolonged negotiations and delay vital work to assess and remediate the building.”
As a result, the government explained that the template is intended to be used as a reasonable starting point for agreeing access to a building.
It acknowledges that some terms in the template may need to be adjusted depending on individual circumstances and parties may wish to seek independent legal advice about doing so.
MHCLG added: “There is no legal requirement to use this template. If a developer and a responsible entity have already agreed an access license agreement, then the parties may continue to use it.
“Responsible entities and developers are expected to work together constructively to reach an agreement over access and while survey work is underway. If issues arise under the template access agreement, parties should seek to resolve them promptly, in line with the terms of the agreement.”
This comes after the government insisted last month that none of the costs wracked up by its new Remediation Enforcement Unit (REU) will be passed on to leaseholders.
The clarification followed resident and leaseholder groups raising concern about being lumbered with the costs of the REU’s enforcement work, but the government insisted this will be fully funded.
Plans for the unit were announced in February by the Building Safety Regulator and MHCLG.
Gaps in the developer remediation contract remain. In May, Inside Housing reported that leaseholders at a block in Prestwich have been hit with a bill of more than £67,000 for a waking watch, even though the developer signed up to the remediation contract.
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