Cladding Remediation in 2026: Where the Money Went and What Tenants Are Owed

In short

Nine years after the Grenfell Tower fire, cladding remediation across England is still unfinished. The Building Safety Fund, the Cladding Safety Scheme and developer-funded works under the Building Safety Act 2022 have between them left tens of thousands of buildings in one of three states: fixed, being fixed, or still waiting.

Phase 2 of Awaab's Law in 2026 pulls fire safety into the 24-hour and 10-working-day deadlines for social landlords. For tenants in blocks still waiting, that pairing is a real lever.

The remediation picture in 2026

Three funding streams have shaped what has happened.

1. Building Safety Fund (BSF). The original 2020 fund for ACM cladding on homes over 18 metres. Mostly closed to new applications; its buildings sit at varied stages of completion.

2. Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS). The successor, covering non-ACM dangerous cladding and widened to buildings of 11 to 18 metres. Still open and active.

3. Developer-funded works under the Building Safety Act 2022. More than 50 of the largest developers signed contracts to fix buildings they built, at their own cost. Progress varies widely between them.

The National Audit Office reported in November 2024 that the programme runs well behind schedule. Of an estimated 9,000 to 12,000 buildings over 11 metres with unsafe cladding, fewer than 1,400 had finished works by August 2024, and most affected buildings had not even been identified. At that pace, the NAO warned, the work will not finish on time. Many social blocks are now in a third or fourth year of "in progress".

What this means for social tenants today

Three practical realities for a social tenant in a block that is still awaiting or in active cladding remediation.

1. Everyday repairs slip down the list during remediation. With contractors on site, smaller jobs get paused "because the wider works will pick them up". That is not always lawful. A broken boiler or windows that will not close stay the landlord's duty under Section 11 LTA 1985, cladding programme or not.

2. Fire-safety hazards need reporting separately. The cladding programme deals with the outside of the building. Internal fire safety, smoke alarms, fire doors, escape routes, is separate. A disconnected alarm, a wedged-open fire door or a blocked escape route during the works is a reportable hazard.

3. From Phase 2 of Awaab's Law in 2026, fire safety joins the 24-hour and 10-working-day clocks. Until then, fire hazards sit under Section 11, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and the HHSRS, without the new deadlines. From commencement, a reported fire hazard categorised as an emergency must be investigated within 24 hours.

What tenants in remediated or remediating blocks should do

1. Photograph the shared areas regularly. Above all fire doors, smoke alarms, signage, and visible damage where work is under way.
2. Keep a written log of every contractor visit, delay and complaint. Remediation runs long; the log is what proves delay.
3. A repair shelved "because the works are coming"? Get that position in writing. It becomes the evidence later.
4. Report fire hazards separately and by name. Use the words "fire-safety hazard" so the landlord cannot fold it into a general works reply.
5. From Phase 2, label the report with its Awaab's Law category. "I am reporting an emergency fire-safety hazard", or a significant one, puts the landlord on the 24-hour or 10-working-day clock.

Where the money has not reached

Specific concerns remain for several categories of tenant:

Leaseholders in mixed blocks. Some funds left leaseholders out, or made them contribute. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 cut leaseholder costs in some cases, not all. Check whether the freeholder sits under a developer pledge or the BSF/CSS, and whether the service charge came down accordingly.

Tenants below the height threshold. Buildings under 11 metres sit outside the funded programme yet may still carry dangerous cladding. The legal route is harder, leaning on the landlord's general fire duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Tenants whose developer went bust. With the original developer in administration, recovery runs slower. The BSF or CSS may pick the building up, but timelines stretch.

How Section 11 and Awaab's Law interact with cladding

A common landlord line: "your repair is on hold pending the wider programme." That is not a legal defence.

• Section 11 LTA 1985 makes the landlord keep the structure, outside, installations and heating in repair, remediation programme or not.
• Awaab's Law, Section 10A LTA 1985, sets the legal deadlines from 27 October 2025 (Phase 1) and 2026 (Phase 2), running from your written report. A contractor on site does not pause the clock.

A landlord who used the cladding excuse to miss an Awaab's Law deadline has handed you the breach evidence.

Where Support for Tenants fits

We help social tenants bring Section 11 and Awaab's Law disrepair claims, referring cases to panel solicitors. Where the cladding backdrop made things worse, delays, shelved repairs, broken fire equipment during works, it strengthens the case, not weakens it.

No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing. For tenants whose primary issue is the cladding itself (not the day-to-day repair around it), the Building Safety Regulator and the local council's environmental-health team are the right enforcement routes.

Free call: 0800 030 4669 | Read about high-rise window safety

Sources: Dangerous cladding: the government's remediation portfolio, National Audit Office (4 November 2024).

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