Building Safety Levy

In addition to responding to the recent technical consultation on the implementation of the Building Safety Levy we have also written to the Secretary of State at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Chief Secretary of the Treasury. The letter urges them to reconsider their proposal to require 309 local authorities to set up separate, individual processes to act as a collection and administration agency for the Levy.

Instead, we have suggested that a more streamlined, cost-efficient approach to raising the additional funds for building safety remediation, which would benefit both central and local government, would be to expand the scope of the Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT).

The Secretary of State has responded to our letter. In it he recognises that requiring local authorities to act as collection agents will mean that there will be many bodies collecting and returning the Levy to government and that this will be an additional burden that will require funding. However, the government’s view remains that local authorities are a clear candidate to act as the collection and administration agent for the Levy.

We will continue to work with DLUHC to ensure that should local authorities be confirmed as the collection agents for the Levy that the process is as streamlined as possible to minimise the administrative burden, and that there is a mechanism for full cost recovery.

Copies of the letters and the LGA’s response to the two consultations on the Building Safety Levy can be found on this page.

Please contact [email protected] for further information.