This week’s briefing covers the Building Safety Levy coming into force, the Metropolitan Police submission of Grenfell investigation files to the Crown Prosecution Service, shifts in landlord behaviour since the Renters’ Rights Act, and a new construction productivity framework from the University of Cambridge Laing O’Rourke Centre.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
- The Building Safety Levy came into force for major residential and student schemes, with projected receipts of about £3.4bn.
- The Metropolitan Police has submitted all Grenfell investigation files to the Crown Prosecution Service for charging decisions.
- Research indicates landlords are reducing portfolios or leaving the private rented sector after the Renters’ Rights Act.
- The University of Cambridge Laing O’Rourke Centre published a universal productivity measurement framework and a piloted software tool.
PLANNING & REGULATION
Grenfell files submitted to the CPS
The Metropolitan Police has handed all files from the Grenfell Tower investigation to the Crown Prosecution Service to enable charging decisions. The police identified 20 companies and organisations and 54 individuals as suspects, and the material submitted includes multi‑million‑page case files and tens of thousands of exhibits. The CPS has committed to making charging decisions before the tenth anniversary of the disaster in June 2027.
Inspector allows countryside homes under revised NPPF
A planning inspector allowed an application for 66 homes in open countryside after finding the local authority had a “substantial” housing land supply shortfall. The decision applied the revised National Planning Policy Framework’s strengthened presumption in favour of sustainable development and treated the land supply shortfall as exceptional circumstances supporting the approval.
BUILD COSTS & CONSTRUCTION
Building Safety Levy comes into force and sparks warnings
A new Building Safety Levy, part of the Building Safety Act 2022, came into force for England on 1 October and applies to developments of more than 10 dwellings or 30 student beds. The levy is designed to raise around £3.4bn and is charged on a £/sq m basis with rates varying by local authority; brownfield developments receive a 50% discount and some affordable and specialist accommodation are exempt. Legal advisers and industry figures warned the levy could have unintended consequences, including effects on scheme viability and timing. Forsters partner Andrew McEwan and Mayer Brown partner James Morris each flagged concerns about timing and pipeline impacts, while developer Pocket Living called for temporary exemptions for SMEs. The levy applies to building control applications submitted from 1 October; developments already in the system before that date are protected.
University of Cambridge launches productivity framework
The University of Cambridge Laing O’Rourke Centre published the Cambridge Framework for Construction Productivity to standardise measurement of productivity across projects and help use existing project data for analysis. The research team reported pilots using data from more than 25 UK construction projects and is developing a software tool, Camentis, to operationalise the framework. The researchers said the framework is intended for use during delivery and in bidding and planning, and linked its timing to the forthcoming PAS 4010:2026 standard.
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE & MARKET CONDITIONS
LANDLORDS & INVESTORS
Renters’ Rights Act linked to landlord exits and revised government figures on rent in advance
Research from SpareRoom reported that a sizeable share of landlords have low confidence in the market since the Renters’ Rights Act. The survey figures cited include 78% of landlords reporting no confidence, 27% saying they are leaving the market and a higher exit rate among single‑property landlords. SpareRoom also reported a 50% surge in demand for guarantors. Separately, the government corrected its English Housing Survey data to show 1.55 million private rented households paid rent in advance alongside a deposit in 2024–25; the revised figures cover current tenancies before the Renters’ Rights reforms and show 81% of those households paid one month’s rent or less in advance.
Until next week
Team PDBC