Updated guidance: Building Safety Fund: Information for leaseholders and residents
|
Published 11 March 2022 Last updated 1 September 2025 — See all
updates Change made: Updated to reflect the closure of the Building
Safety Fund to new applications. Contents What is the Building
Safety Fund (BSF)? What is the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS)?
Finding the right scheme for your building Why the BSF changed in
2022 Social sector applicants 2022 BSF applications 2020 BSF
applications Do...Request free trial
Published 11 March 2022 Last updated 1 September 2025 — See all updates Change made: Updated to reflect the closure of the Building Safety Fund to new applications. Contents
What is the Building Safety Fund (BSF)? The Building Safety Fund (BSF) opened in June 2020 for buildings over 18 metres. Its aim is to provide funding to fix fire safety problems with external cladding. On 1 September 2025 the BSF closed to new applications with all 11m+ buildings in England being remediated through the Cladding Safety Scheme. What is the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS)? In July 2023 the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) opened. The CSS expands funding to include buildings between 11 and 18 metres (medium-rise buildings). As of 1 September 2025, the CSS has become the single scheme for remediating all 11m+ buildings in England (including those in London). The scheme has the same aims as the BSF. Finding the right scheme for your building The scheme which applies to your building will depend upon:
The two tables below will help you to find out which scheme applies to you. You will need to know when the application was made and how high your building is. Buildings inside London
Buildings outside London
The rest of this page provides further details about the Building Safety Fund (BSF). There is separate information available for the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS). Who can apply to the BSF Only those with a legal responsibility for the safety of a building can apply to the BSF. They include:
These individuals or organisations are sometimes referred to as ‘responsible entities' or applicants. A responsible entity may choose to appoint a managing agent to make or lead the BSF application. The agent can act legally on their behalf and manage the application until work is complete. Why the BSF changed in 2022 The BSF was first opened in 2020. The process was adapted, when it was reopened in 2022, to ensure that the level of building work matches the risk. Therefore, in some cases, cladding won't necessarily need to be removed and replaced. Where this is the case, there is less disruption for residents. The safety of residents remains the highest priority. Social sector applicants On 11 June 2025, government announced over £1 billion of new investment to accelerate the remediation of social housing, by giving social housing providers equal access to government funding as that afforded to private building owners. On 17 July 2025 the CSS guidelines were updated to reflect this equal access policy. Those guidelines state that no retrospective funding is available for buildings that had a cladding remediation works contract signed on or before 10 June 2025, the funding position is unchanged for these buildings. If you are unsure about the circumstances of a particular building, please seek advice from Homes England's Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) team. 2022 BSF applications All new applications need to include a specialist report. We call this a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) assessment. The report:
The BSF uses the information in the FRAEW to decide if an application is eligible and what work they will fund. Depending upon the fire risk, this could range from installing a sprinkler system to replacing all cladding. The BSF will fund all work recommended by the FRAEW to reduce fire safety risks related to external cladding. 2020 BSF applications Previous applicants who didn't have full funding approved, or those where work hadn't started had a choice when the 2022 BSF was reopened. They could either:
Where applicants chose to switch to the 2022 process, they needed to commission a FRAEW. The benefit of the FRAEW is that it also covers issues relating to external walls. This could potentially include items which were previously ineligible, such as balconies. Do leaseholders need to pay anything? If you are a qualifying leaseholder, you are protected in law from costs to make your building safe. This includes a cap to the amount you may be asked to contribute. You are a qualifying leaseholder if your property is in a building above 11 metres and on 14 February 2022:
You can check if you'll have to pay to fix safety problems with your building by using our building safety costs eligibility checker. Proving you are a qualifying leaseholder You can show you are a qualifying leaseholder by completing a Deed of Certificate. You will need to give this to your building owner so that they can calculate any contribution you need to make, if any. Developer remediation contract Many large developers have signed the developer remediation contract. This means they have agreed to:
There is separate information about the developer remediation contract. This includes a list of developers who have signed the contract so far. Developer remediation and BSF applications The action to be taken by a developer will depend on the stage an application has reached in the BSF process. If the Grant Funding Agreement has been signed by the applicant, the work should go ahead under the BSF process. The original building developer must then reimburse any costs when work is complete. If the Grant Funding Agreement hasn't been signed, the developer should fix the problem themselves and cover the cost. The work to fix the building will then continue outside the BSF process. Either way, your building owner should keep you informed. They should tell you if a developer remediation contract has been signed and what this means for your building. Getting further information about your building The Building Safety Fund Leaseholder and Resident Service provides regular updates on applications. The service is for any leaseholder or resident in a building with a BSF application. Building owners should also keep you informed. As part of the BSF application process they have a duty to provide you with regular updates. They should either do this themselves or through their managing agent. Dealing with those who fail to progress applications The person or organisation responsible for your building has a legal duty to keep your building safe. This includes ensuring there are plans in place to fix fire safety issues in the building. If a plan is not already in place, they must complete a FRAEW and submit this with their application to the Building Safety Fund (BSF). If the person or organisation responsible for your building does not act, they can be forced to. The Building Safety Act 2022 includes legal powers to make building owners take action. Remediation orders and remediation contribution orders are available for:
See also: making sure remediation work is done. Getting a mortgage or selling your home if it has a fire safety problem Some banks and building societies (mortgage lenders) have agreed as part of an industry statement to lend on mid and high-rise buildings with fire safety problems as long as either:
Mortgage lenders who have agreed to lend include:
If you need proof that safety issues are being fixed you should speak to the person or organisation responsible for your building. Some lenders may choose to ask for an EWS1 form, although these are not legally required when selling a property. Read more about EWS1 forms on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) website. Independent support and advice The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) provide independent specialist advice on leaseholder rights. They can support you if you have any concerns about unsafe cladding. |