Fire safety

Over the past four years there have been multiple updates to Government guidance on fire safety and the number of buildings identified requiring remediation works has grown across the UK. The scope was previously expanded to include apartment buildings below 18 metres and those with forms of cladding beyond ACM.

Since the start of 2022, discussions have been held with Government to address building fire safety concerns across all blocks above 11 metres in England. As a result of these discussions, and in addition to our £125 million funding commitment from March 2021, we announced a further £80 million funding to cover external wall and life-critical fire safety defects in Taylor Wimpey apartment buildings constructed in the 30 years prior to 5th April 2022. As a signatory of the Government’s Fire Safety Pledge, we have also committed to reimburse any funds allocated or used for Taylor Wimpey buildings over 18 metres from the Building Safety Fund, being the fund that the sector already contributes to via the Residential Property Developer Tax.

We believe this is the right thing to do as many leaseholders have been left with unreasonably large bills to ensure their properties are in line with updated fire safety improvement requirements.

More detail on Taylor Wimpey fire safety funding

We are pleased that updated guidance has allowed us to resolve issues for leaseholders using External Wall Survey (EWS1) forms as an independent framework. Taylor Wimpey will provide funding to make apartment buildings safe and mortgageable in line with the latest RICS EWS1 guidance, and more details on this process are outlined below:

• For apartments buildings we own, Taylor Wimpey will both fund and oversee improvement works, regardless of eligibility for the UK Government Building Safety Fund, to bring these buildings up to the standards required by EWS1 assessment.

• If Taylor Wimpey no longer owns the apartment building, where a freeholder produces a fair and proportionate plan for fire safety improvement works following EWS1 assessment, we will contribute funding to assist freeholders in bringing those buildings up to the standards required by EWS1 assessment.