Persimmon Homes has become one of the first major housebuilders to sign Scotland’s Developer Remediation Contract, confirming its commitment to fixing fire safety defects in its buildings
On 31 October 2025, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Màiri McAllan, wrote to nine developers, inviting them to sign a contract committing them to fix unsafe buildings they developed. It follows a developer commitment letter from 2023, in which housebuilders pledged to remediate life-critical fire safety works in buildings they had built.
The developers included Miller Homes, Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey, and Bellway, whose annual profits exceed £10 million
By signing the Developer Remediation Contract, Persimmon’s pledge will be legally enforceable. Developers who sign the contract will be required to take responsibility for identifying and assessing buildings taller than 11 metres that they developed or refurbished in Scotland over the last 30 years.
They will also be obligated to carry out remediation work to “address any risk to human life that is (directly or indirectly) created or exacerbated by the building’s external wall cladding system” and will need to keep owners and residents of these buildings informed on their progress towards their commitments.
As reported by Inside Housing, McAllan called the move by Persimmon a “positive step forward in making relevant buildings safer and giving residents confidence in work carried out.”
“…I would like to see the remaining developers follow Persimmon’s lead,” McAllan continued.
“By signing this contract, developers will give reassurance to the people living in these buildings that essential remediation work will progress at pace.
“Developers who sign the contract will also be required to reimburse taxpayers for funding already spent on remediating buildings they were responsible for.”
Persimmon Homes regional chair John Roocroft said:
“Persimmon has consistently taken a proactive, industry-leading approach to building safety, to do the right thing for the residents affected.
“We are pleased to reaffirm this by becoming the first developer to sign the Scottish government’s developer remediation contract.
“We are already making good progress in remediating the buildings requiring works and will continue working constructively with the Scottish government and residents to complete the works as quickly as possible.”
Scotland’s Developer Remediation Contract is similar to the one signed by UK housebuilders covering the remediation of unsafe buildings in England. To date, 53 developers have signed this contract.