Mayor bids for developer levy to fund replacement cladding work
Sadiq Khan has called on Whitehall to introduce a £3bn levy on private housing developers to fund replacement cladding work.
Thousands of Londoners, both in the private and social housing sector, are still awaiting replacement cladding work on their properties after the Grenfell Tower disaster exposed serious safety issues.
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The Mayor is proposing a one-off tax raid on the profits of developers over the last decade.
City Hall analysis shared by the Mayor’s team suggests that publicly listed housebuilders have brought home £30bn-worth of pre-tax profits in that period.
The 10 per cent levy would “raise at least £3bn to carry out remediation work,” City Hall said.
Many private tenants have seen their properties made almost unsellable due to the cost of replacement cladding, which they are in most cases being asked to foot the bill for.
Whereas in social housing, a combination of developers, local authorities and Government funding have meant a number of properties have not had the replacement cladding fitted.
City Hall said the levy would cut the typical profit margin of a new home from 20 to 18.7 per cent.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan 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.”