Cladding Remediation Programme: factsheet

Legislation and regulations

Legislation related to cladding

The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 was commenced on Monday 6 January 2025 having gained Royal Assent on 21 June 2024. The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 14 May 2024.

This legislation gives Scottish Ministers powers to assess and remediate buildings within scope of the act, as well as powers to arrange urgent works and evacuate buildings where needed. In certain circumstances Scottish Ministers can use their powers when unable to gain consent from homeowners and residents.

Will there be further legislation after commencement

In some cases the powers in the Act will require Scottish Ministers to bring forward new legislation in order to confirm the detail of their proposals.

For example, the Act gives powers enabling Scottish Ministers to establish a Responsible Developers Scheme. The purpose of such a scheme would be to make provision for developers to address or contribute towards the costs of addressing the remediation of buildings in scope of the Act. However, the details of the scheme will first require further development and consultation before they can be brought before the Scottish Parliament.

Will the Act provide assurance

The Act also gave Scottish Ministers powers to establish a Cladding Assurance Register. A building is entered onto the Register on completion of a Single Building Assessment (SBA). This Register holds information on buildings which have been through the SBA process and records any remediation work required. This entry will be updated when Ministers are satisfied that any required works identified have been completed.

Cladding Assurance Register

After a Single Building Assessment (SBA) is completed and peer reviewed, it is submitted to the Scottish Government to be added to the Cladding Assurance Register (CAR). The CAR shows key information from the SBA, including details of any remediation work that needs to be done. 

Scottish Ministers must report to Parliament regularly on the content of the CAR. It is anticipated the first report to parliament will be made in summer 2026 and annually thereafter.  

The CAR went live on the 6 January 2025 to coincide with the commencement of the Act. Details of access arrangements will be announced in due course. 

Existing regulations for cladding

Many of the flammable and dangerous materials previously used on multi residential buildings over 18m have been banned in Scotland since 2005 and new cladding systems are required to use non-combustible materials or pass a large-scale fire test.

Amendments to the Building (Scotland) Regulations introduced further key changes to existing regulations. These included a ban on the use of highly combustible metal composite material in an external wall cladding system or used as an internal lining on any building