Cladding Safety Scheme

New agreement

The Department for Communities has formed an agreement with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), that Northern Ireland CSS applications can be processed and delivered by Homes England.

Applying

An application for the CSS can be submitted by the person or organisation legally responsible for the building’s external repairs or their representative.

Northern Ireland residents who think their building is eligible for the CSSNI scheme should contact the building owner/managing agent in the first instance. The owner/managing agent can then apply to the Cladding Safety Scheme through the Homes England website.

What you can use it for

The fund applies to residential buildings which are over 11 metres in height. The aim of the fund is to reduce or address the fire risks associated with exterior wall cladding that is potentially unsafe.

The CSS will support applications for buildings where the applicant is unable to afford to carry out the work themselves or feel that it is not their responsibility to do so.

For Northern Ireland buildings, the CSS will be administered by Homes England.

Funding

Funding will be provided for cladding remediation by MHCLG. To date, in Northern Ireland over £2 million has been paid out to managing agents as part of the Cladding Safety Scheme. This funding is designated for cladding remediation of high-rise residential buildings to ensure they meet current safety standards.

How to apply

Details on eligibility and the application process can be found at Cladding Safety Scheme overview.

The guidance is for the Cladding Safety Scheme as it applies in England, there are some exceptions in relation to how the scheme will work in Northern Ireland.

From 4 January 2023, all subsidies provided by public authorities in Northern Ireland must comply with either the European Union's State Aid rules or the UK Subsidy Control regime.

• State aid and subsidy control after EU exit

Homes England will collect information from applicants on leaseholder/s within their buildings to assist DfC in determining which rules will/must be applied.

All applicants will be required to sign up to a Grant Funding Agreement, within which a stipulation is included that all plans and works must meet The Building Regulations 2010, including minimum standards for fire safety and energy efficiency.

MHCLG and Homes England do not have powers of enforcement within Northern Ireland, however they will engage with DfC and other local authorities to drive the pace of remediation works.

Fire Safety Regulations (NI) 2010 is the comparable NI Legislation for the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In accordance with Cladding Safety Scheme policy, from 01/11/23, a FRAEW in support of an application for CSS Funding, must come from a listed Fire Risk Assessor (see below list of active NI Fire Risk Assessors) in order to be acceptable. Prior to this date, applications supported by a FRAEW from a Fire Risk Assessor not on the list, will be accepted subject to quality assurance.

The Developer Pledge section is not applicable to Northern Ireland.

The Building Safety Act (BSA) is not applicable to Northern Ireland with the exception of provisions relating to Homes Ombudsman Scheme and Construction Products which are reserved matters.

The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) does not provide advice to Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland equivalent is Housing Rights

The Defective Premises Act 1972 (DPA) does not apply to Northern Ireland and as such detail in this section is not applicable. However, the Defective Premises (Northern Ireland) Order 1975 is equivalent and this was amended in September 2024 by the Defective Premises (Northern Ireland) Act 2024 which provides parity with the Defective Premises Act 1972.

Active NI fire assessors

• Bailey Partnership buildingsafety@baileyp.co.uk or telephone 017 3288 5835
• BEFS Ltd hello@befsltd.co.uk or telephone 020 3633 6450 or 011 3418 0375
• Cladding Project Management ben@cpm.limited or telephone 011 7042 7876
• Hampton Fire Risk Management Ltd kimon@hamptonFRM.uk or telephone 077758 28565
• Independent Fire Inspections Ltd ben.freeman@fireinspections.co.uk or telephone 015 2290 4189
• Metro SRM ian.simcott@metrosafety.co.uk or telephone 020 7960 3939
• Noviun Architects c.watts@noviun.com or telephone 07950 162866
• Rider Levett Bucknall UK Ltd Joseph.campbell@uk.rlb.com or telephone 077765 99520
• Tetra Tech infouk@tetratech.com or telephone 020 7250 7500

Make an application

An application can be submitted on Cladding Safety Scheme