The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has warned the government that late amendments to its Building Safety Bill, including plans to extend defects liability, are “unworkable” and could force professionals to leave the sector.
The comments were part of CIC’s evidence to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee inquiry which is scrutinising housing secretary Michael Gove’s approach to fixing the building safety crisis.
Gove announced in January this year that the government plans to extend the limitation period under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act to 30 years – double the 15-year limit originally proposed.
CIC said that the “huge increase in level and extent of liability” under the new plans could force SMEs out of housing development, with the insurance sector potentially concluding that it should walk away from construction.
The CIC said that further amendments announced by Gove in February could add more insurance pressure to the sector and “could have a deleterious impact on the capability to remediate unsafe buildings and build new housing (including affordable housing) and potentially militate against levelling-up policy intentions”.
Graham Watts OBE, chief executive of CIC said: “We desperately need to remediate hundreds of buildings across the country and increase the rate of building new homes. Yet these proposals could put this work at risk by making it impossible for companies and people to continue in the sector.
“The Building Safety Bill is a wasted opportunity to make the built environment safer for everyone.”
“It is vital these very late amendments be given greater scrutiny to allow for the passage of a Bill that provides great recompense for consumers but ensures the viability of the construction sector and its ability to help deliver on the levelling up agenda.”
The full submission can be downloaded here.
A ‘wasted opportunity’
Association for Project Safety (APS) president Jonathan Moulam said: “APS supports the Construction Industry Council [CIC] and our colleagues across the construction sector in raising concerns.
“The Building Safety Bill is a wasted opportunity to make the built environment safer for everyone. The concentration on structural fire risk replays a disaster that should never have happened without looking forward to how safety can be improved more generally.
“The Bill as it stands creates dangers of its own and is likely to make homes less affordable while pushing small firms out of business. Potential costs could make the existing skills crisis worse. Around 70% of people working in construction work for small businesses or on their own and they could just give up if there are problems obtaining or affording professional indemnity insurance.
“There is still time to strengthen the proposed new law to put safety at the heart of any new building or project. APS believes safety can be front and centre if government makes it a duty for any building covered by the Bill to be safe both to build and use. The government should also consider backing special underwriting provisions – such as it did for home insurance in Northern Ireland or for homes in areas prone to flooding – so that household premiums can be kept to an affordable level.”
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I fully endorse the concerns expressed and trust appropriate representation will be made. This goes against claimed aim for less regulation and controls (less government)!
I fully endorse concerns raised and the need for government underwriting. There needs to be a viable balance between professional responsibility and liability and provision of government regulatory protection with appropriate public sector resourcing. Andrew Watson 12th March 2022