Building Safety Levy Bill passed

The Building Safety Levy Bill, which has been approved by Holyrood, will see a tax charged on the construction of certain new residential properties from April 2028.

This measure is in line with equivalent legislation in England.

The levy aims to raise £450 million over 15 years to help fund work to fix residential buildings with unsafe cladding which have no linked developer.

Public finance minister Ivan McKee said: “The Scottish government has stepped in to marshall the necessary work to protect and repair Scotland’s existing housing stock and to ensure it is properly funded.

“Cladding remediation is set to cost between £1.7 billion and £3.1 billion over the next 15 years. To ensure Scotland’s public finances are sustainable, it is right that a contribution to these costs is made by the residential property development industry, just as they will be doing in England.

“All revenues raised will be spent on efforts to rehabilitate existing stock, which will improve safety for residents and homeowners and support the alleviation of the housing emergency.”