The Property Institute (TPI) has published new research warning of a “widening two-tier divide” between developer-led and government-funded cladding remediation
Data collated by TPI from its members shows that of 511 buildings requiring cladding remediation, only 24% were in active delivery, with 13.5% complete and 11% currently on site. The figures, which cover buildings under government-backed and developer-led remediation schemes, indicate that around 48% – nearly half – of buildings remain stalled in the early stages of remediation work, an increase from 32% the previous year.
Developer-led remediation projects were moving at a much slower pace compared to government-funded schemes, it was found. Of the 117 government-funded remediation projects recorded by TPI, 40% were on-site or in the completion stage. This compares to just 19% of developer-pledged projects.
TPI also reported that only 14% of government-funded projects were still at the early stage of remediation (application or scoping), a decrease from 41% the previous year.
For the 394 developer-pledged projects, 58% remained in the early stages, with TPI adding that this number had “barely shifted across three data sets over the past 12 months”. Only 10% of developer-pledged buildings were complete, compared to 26% of government-funded projects. Additionally, TPI reported that only 10% of developer-pledged projects had begun on-site work, which is up from 6% the previous year but still far behind government-funded counterparts.
The data was collected and compared across three time points spanning the past 12 months to assess the rate of progress, with TPI estimating that, at the current rate of progress, it could take around ten years for all developer-pledged buildings to have started remediation works on site.
Commenting on the research, Chief Executive Officer at TPI, Andrew Bulmer, said the data was “genuinely alarming”.
“Thousands of people across the country are living in unsafe buildings, often unable to sell their homes, having faced nearly a decade of uncertainty since the Grenfell tragedy.
“The fact that the current remediation progress is so slow, with no end in sight, is a national scandal. The goal for the government and everyone involved in the housing sector should be to make these homes safe as soon as possible.”
TPI has since called for “stronger compulsion measures” from the government to “force” developers to remediate their buildings more quickly.
Bulmer added: “The government’s Remediation Bill is an opportunity to give developers a legally binding backstop that reassures residents that every step legally possible is being taken to make their homes safe. Pledged developers need a hard deadline to ensure there are no more unnecessary delays.”
As previously reported by the FPA, current government data showed that the number of residential buildings 11 metres and over with unsafe cladding was 4,411. Remediation costs, calculated in March 2025, are reportedly in the region of £11.8 billion to £22.7 billion.