For freeholders, RMCs and managing agents
Cladding Safety Scheme: Eligibility, Funding and Works
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 5 min read
The short answer
The Cladding Safety Scheme is the government fund, run by Homes England, that pays for life-safety cladding works on residential buildings over 11 metres in England. Since 1 September 2025 it is the single scheme for those buildings, London included.
- Only the Responsible Entity, the party legally responsible for external repairs, or its representative can apply.
- The FRAEW must come from a firm on the scheme's panel.
- Funding comes in up to two stages: pre-tender support, then full cost funding once the works package is approved.
- The works contract must name a principal contractor, hold retentions and include a 12-month defects period.
The Cladding Safety Scheme is the government fund that pays for life-safety cladding works on residential buildings over 11 metres in England. Homes England runs it, and since 1 September 2025 it is the single scheme for those buildings, London included.
The money goes to the building's Responsible Entity, not to leaseholders. It covers the works a FRAEW recommends to address the risk from the cladding. It also sets rules for the works contract.
We carry out cladding remediation in London as main contractor, so this guide follows the scheme through to the works. We are not on the assessor panel and we do not run applications. Planning one? Get a free remediation scope.
Who the Cladding Safety Scheme is for
Only the Responsible Entity can apply: the person or organisation legally responsible for the building's external repair and maintenance. A representative, such as a managing agent, can lead the application with evidence of authority.
| Responsible Entity | Typical building |
|---|---|
| Freeholder or head leaseholder | Private blocks with long leases |
| Management company or RMC | Blocks where the lease puts repair on the company |
| Right to Manage company | Blocks managed by qualifying leaseholders |
| Registered provider of social housing | Housing association and council blocks |
| Section 24 manager | Blocks with a tribunal-appointed manager |
Leaseholders cannot apply unless they are the head leaseholder acting as the Responsible Entity. GOV.UK suggests leaseholders contact their Responsible Entity and encourage it to apply.
The scheme is a last resort. Homes England will not fund a building where a developer has agreed, under the developer remediation contract, to fix it. Where a developer has not signed but is still trading, you are expected to pursue it first.
Eligibility: height, wall system and the FRAEW
Three tests decide eligibility. The building must be over 11 metres, residential or mixed use with residential leaseholders, and it must have cladding as PAS 9980 defines it.
Height is measured from the lowest external ground level to the finished floor of the top occupied storey. Plant rooms, roof gardens, gyms and storage on the top floor do not count as occupied.
The FRAEW comes after the first stage of the application. Once it is submitted, you instruct a FRAEW from the scheme's panel of fire risk assessors, summarised on the scheme's own summary sheet. Masonry or concrete walls may not need one at all.
The scheme does not fund hotels, offices or buildings with no residential leaseholders or affordable housing tenants. It also excludes buildings where works started on site before 10 January 2022.
Our guide to FRAEW and PAS 9980 explains the appraisal, and the EWS1 form guide covers what lenders ask for.
How the application and grant stages work
The application runs through the Building Remediation Hub, one building per application. Funding then comes in up to two stages.
- Eligibility. You submit building details, proof of authority, leaseholder engagement and other funding routes explored.
- FRAEW. A panel assessor appraises the walls and recommends the works.
- Pre-tender support. Where offered, it pays for the professional team, design and a competitive tender. It cannot pay for capital works.
- Works package. You submit the tendered costs. Homes England's cost consultants check they are eligible and reasonable, and ask whether competitive bids were obtained.
- Full cost funding. Once approved, you sign the works package deed, enter the works contract and draw payments monthly.
Pre-tender support is not a promise of full funding. GOV.UK warns that applicants may be proceeding at risk until the full award is confirmed.
Building Safety Fund for taller buildings
The Building Safety Fund opened in June 2020 for buildings over 18 metres. It closed to new applications on 1 September 2025. From then the Cladding Safety Scheme became the single scheme for all buildings over 11 metres in England.
| Building | Before July 2023 | July 2023 to August 2025 | From 1 September 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 to 18 m | Medium Rise Scheme pilot, from November 2022 | Cladding Safety Scheme | Cladding Safety Scheme |
| Over 18 m, in London | Building Safety Fund | Building Safety Fund | Cladding Safety Scheme |
| Over 18 m, outside London | Building Safety Fund | Cladding Safety Scheme | Cladding Safety Scheme |
A separate window for buildings under 11 metres closed on 9 October 2026, with existing applications still being assessed.
Choosing a contractor the funder accepts
The scheme sets out what the works contract must contain. Read it before you tender, because a contract that misses these points delays the works package deed.
| Requirement | What GOV.UK asks for |
|---|---|
| Principal contractor | The main contractor, appointed under CDM 2015 and competent |
| Principal designer | Named, under CDM 2015 |
| Contract administrator | A chartered CA, employer's agent or architect |
| Cost consultant | A chartered quantity surveyor or cost consultant, such as RICS |
| Retention | At least 5% to practical completion, then at least 2.5% for the defects period |
| Defects period | At least 12 months |
| Design liability | PI cover that does not exclude cladding, where the contractor designs |
| Form | Executed as a deed, with adjudication or arbitration |
One more rule protects independence. One party cannot provide full consultancy services and also act as, or appoint, the lead contractor. Homes England also expects firms on the works to be part of the Considerate Constructors Scheme.
Price matters too. The cost consultants check that costs are reasonable and competitively obtained. Already have a tender back? Send it to us. We'll beat it, line by line, in the format the consultants check.
We used Craftex for a shop-to-flat conversion in Chelsea — turning an old retail space into two rental units. Access wasn’t the easiest, but the guys handled it well, no drama. Quote was clear, no hidden extras, and they actually stuck to it, which is rare. Finish came out solid, exactly what we needed for rentals. Joe (PM) kept things ticking and communication was always on point. All in all, smooth job — would use them again for sure.👍
Timescales and resident communication
The scheme expects a realistic but ambitious programme, and Homes England must be told of any change to it. Once funded, a progress report is due every month.
Residents are told at each step. GOV.UK lists the milestones the Responsible Entity must report on:
- Eligibility application submitted, and its outcome.
- Works application submitted.
- Procurement, with timescales and likely causes of delay.
- The funding outcome and the grant funding agreement.
- Start on site, with estimated start and end dates.
- Works completed.
On site, applicants must limit the impact on residents: phasing, access to common spaces, ventilation and light, noise and privacy. In a higher-risk building over 18 metres, the Building Safety Regulator must also approve the works before they start.
Lived-in blocks are where we work. At Pan Peninsula in Canary Wharf we rebuilt a 290 sq m penthouse in 10 weeks with residents at home. Neither that nor Kensington Olympia was a cladding job, but the access and resident planning are the same.
Ready for the works package? Send us the FRAEW and the tender pack for a scope, a cost plan and a programme with dates.
- Responsible Entity confirmed, with authority for any representative
- Developer checked against the developer remediation contract
- Height measured to the top occupied storey
- FRAEW from a scheme panel firm, with the summary sheet
- Professional team: principal designer, contract administrator, chartered cost consultant
- Competitive tender and a works contract that meets the scheme's terms
- Building Safety Regulator approval planned, if the building is higher-risk
- Updates to leaseholders and residents at every milestone
