Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 – A reminder one year on

The Scottish Parliament’s long-awaited Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 came into force just over a year ago (6 January 2025) following the Grenfell tragedy just over six years ago.

The purpose of the Act is to address fire safety risks from cladding, particularly for homeowners or leaseholders who should not (or are not able to) bear the cost of remediation.

Scope and Retrospective Effect

The Act applies to buildings:

• constructed or redeveloped between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022;
• containing at least one residential flat;
• over 11 metres high; and
• having an external cladding system

It is important to be aware of the date range for the potentially affected works – June 1992 to June 2022.

This means that some of the works which will be subject to the Act may be over 20 years old.

In terms of existing Scots legislation, any claim for defective works or negligence in specifying defective cladding for use would cease to be enforceable after five years.

The point at which the five-year clock for a claim commences is the subject of substantial case law, which is beyond the scope of this blog.  However, it is clear that there is the potential in the Act for construction professionals to be called upon to carry out or pay for remedial works, where their obligation to do so would have otherwise expired.

Key Provisions & Powers

 In summary the Act provides for:

• Assessments: Ministers can arrange single-building assessments to check cladding for fire risks.
• Remediation: They can then fund and organize necessary repairs or interim safety measures as necessary
• Evacuation: Power to require residents to move out if there’s substantial risk during works or due to the cladding itself.
• Offences: Creates offenses for obstructing assessments or providing false information for the register.

Cladding Assurance Register (“CAR”)

The Act establishes a public record of assessed and remediated buildings which went ‘live’ at the same time as the Act.

Any buildings caught in the scope of the Act should have a ‘single-building assessment’ (SBA) carried out.  This assessment should identify any risk to life caused by the cladding, and the work required to eliminate or mitigate it.

Such buildings can then be registered in the CAR provided that the SBA has been carried out, and any necessary work identified has been completed.

The CAR is therefore intended to provide comfort to anyone buying a flat in such a building.

Responsible Developer Scheme (“RDS”)

The RDS has been established under the Act as a way making the building industry contribute to remediation costs.

The RDS is intended ‘to secure that persons in the building industry address, or contribute towards the costs of addressing, risks to human life created or exacerbated…by…external wall cladding systems’. In simple terms this means to hold the installers of cladding systems to account for any remedial work that may be required.

The Act provides that eligibility for membership is to be made by regulations.  The RDS is set out in the Act as a voluntary, opt-in scheme.

The party operating the RDS is to publish a list of those eligible for the scheme who have opted not to join, which it defines, rather ominously, as a ‘prohibited developers list’.  The definition of those who may be eligible includes anyone ‘carrying on, for business purposes, activities connected with the construction of buildings’.

This will therefore potentially affect more than just contractors; architects, quantity surveyors and engineers may also be caught by the legislation.

The consequences of appearing on the list may be severe.  Those who find themselves ‘named and shamed’ may face sanctions (being paced on the ‘prohibited developers list for example) which may impact their ability to:

• carry out ‘any development’ or any specific kind of development set out in the regulations;
• obtaining grant or amendment of a building warrant; and/or
• obtaining a completion certificate.

Breach of these prohibitions may carry criminal sanctions and substantial fines – so much for a ‘voluntary’ scheme.

Developer Remediation Contract

A key part of the attempts to manage any necessary remediation is the Scottish Safer Buildings Accord and the related Developer Remediation Contract.

In December 2025 Persimmon Homes became the first major developer to sign this legally binding contract and Major developers who signed the 2023 commitment letter are being invited to sign to identify, assess, and (where necessary) fix buildings they developed.

The Act

The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 is borne from laudable intentions and response to a significant and high-profile tragedy. As with any new legislation time will tell how it impacts on the industry but of particular concern for construction professionals at the moment is the potential ramifications of not signing up to the RDS, while the legal profession should be looking with interest at how historic claims, which would otherwise have prescribed, will be handled.