Apartment owners hope Gove will solve Britain’s siding crisis Business

During his run for the Tory leadership, the new Housing Secretary adopted a pro-development tone and, while in opposition, advocated for construction on farmland and other green spaces, suggesting that liberalization of planning may be on the agenda despite the government’s recent return to its plans to reform the system.

While such moves are greeted positively by the industry, many are unhappy with proposals for a tax on residential real estate developers – essentially a levy on profitable real estate developers to help with the costs of the siding crisis. Developers of student housing lobbied former Secretary of State Robert Jenrick to make them ineligible, arguing that no government funding had been spent on addressing the coating issues on student properties.

The British Property Federation has also strongly opposed the inclusion of specialist rental developments. This sparked a showdown between the professional body and Gove during his first week in office.

Ian Fletcher, head of real estate at the British Property Federation, said: “Policy decisions regarding the inclusion of the rental construction sector in this new tax have not yet been finalized – and we continue to advocate for its exemption. The rental construction industry has not contributed to building safety issues and attributed financial disputes between landlords and tenants, which this property developer tax is intended to fund.

Coating activists, however, were cautiously welcoming Gove’s appointment.

Liam Spender, spokesperson for the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign group, said: “We have to give it a chance – there is room for cautious optimism. He has undertones of John Prescott because he’s been given a huge piece of domestic politics and there is a burden of expectations. “

“That being said, he needs to understand what government policy really is. We had flip flops on the span of the buildings, if we will have to take loans and other issues as well. The only way to solve this problem is if the government pays immediately ”.