Mayor of London proposes £3bn levy on developers to fund building safety

The Mayor of London has called on Government to impose a £3billion levy on developers to address the “rampant inequality” in building safety standards and fund cladding replacement work on properties across the capital.

Thousands of Londoners are still awaiting replacement cladding more than three and a half years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Sadiq Khan says the failure of Government, developers and building owners to fund this essential work for all means too many residents face extortionate bills to rectify unsafe homes.

City Hall analysis of accounts data for publicly listed housebuilders has revealed pre-tax profits of £30bn over the last decade.

Mr Khan says a 10% levy would raise enough to carry out remediation work and help ensure no leaseholder is left out of pocket.

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He said: “I have always been clear that the responsibility for funding building safety work must lie with Government. However, we cannot deny the role that industry has played in making decisions that have compromised the safety of buildings.

“I am determined to find a solution that can make homes safe without passing on the burden of the cost to leaseholders – it is wrong for them to bear the costs of historic errors they have played no part in causing.

“This levy would have a minimal impact on developer profits but would prove lifechanging for London leaseholders.”

In September the Mayor wrote to 40 private landlords demanding they begin work to remove the most dangerous aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding from their buildings.

London has more than twice as many private blocks with ACM cladding as the rest of the country combined.