HBF Calls for Suspension of Building Safety Levy

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has urged the government to suspend the upcoming Building Safety Levy¹, warning that the additional tax will hit small and medium-sized developers the hardest. A letter, signed by over 100 HBF members, calls for a full reassessment of the levy’s impact before it comes into force.

First announced in February 2021, the levy is expected to generate £3 billion over the next decade to fund building safety remediation, including the replacement of unsafe cladding. It will apply to residential developments with 10 or more plots or bed units, as well as student housing and HMOs with 30 or more bed units, with exemptions for social housing, care homes, and other specific types of accommodation. Charged per square metre, rates will vary by local authority, and brownfield developments may receive discounted rates to encourage regeneration. Developers will be required to notify local authorities when work begins on the first plot, triggering the levy calculation, with full payment due upon completion of the first unit.

With enforcement expected from September 2025, the HBF argues that the government has yet to fully assess the levy’s financial impact. They are calling for a more detailed review, including:

• Completion of promised work in 2025 to determine the true funding requirement.
• A robust Impact Assessment to gauge how many private and affordable homes may be lost as a result.
• A reconsideration of the levy’s collection and administration, which is expected to disproportionately affect SME developers.
• Stronger action against product manufacturers who have so far resisted contributing to building safety remediation.

With further details on the levy still to be published, the industry will be watching closely for government response.

Grey belt designation enables approval despite concerns over ‘merging’ settlements

Another significant grey belt approval has emerged, with a planning inspector allowing an appeal for 135 homes on green belt land. The decision hinged on an interesting interpretation of the policy: while the development site lay between two settlements, Bagshot and Windlesham, the inspector determined that these were not towns but "lower-tier" settlements. As a result, their merging would not undermine the green belt’s fundamental purpose of preventing urban sprawl.

This case, in Surrey Heath, highlights how the grey belt concept—where green belt land is reassessed for development—continues to evolve. The inspector weighed the loss of open space against the pressing need for new homes, particularly affordable housing, and the benefits of public green spaces and infrastructure improvements.

Are you keeping track of how grey belt policy is unfolding—and what it could mean for your project and the broader availability of land for development? Visit our website to read our latest blog exploring the state of the grey belt so far². 

For a more in-depth analysis of how recent government initiatives are shaping land supply, check out our litepaper Plotting the Future³.

1. https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/home-builders-federation-calls-for-suspension-of-the-planned-building-safety-levy/
2. https://www.terraquest.co.uk/news-and-insights/the-evolution-of-a-revolutionary-greybelt-policy
3. https://www.terraquest.co.uk/news-and-insights/plotting-for-the-future