The Government has introduced the Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill to Parliament. It was introduced on 14 October 2026 and aims to drive forward the remediation of unsafe cladding and ensure that those responsible pay towards the cost of remediation work.
Much of the Bill is aimed at building owners. It creates a new legal duty on those responsible for the safety of their buildings, such as freeholders, to identify, assess and fix issues without delay, and anyone who obstructs this work could face criminal penalties. But manufacturers should take note too. The Government says the Bill will give developers, contractors and others who have paid for remediation a simpler route to recover costs from cladding manufacturers where their products contributed to a building being unsafe, by removing legal barriers that have blocked these claims. It would also amend the construction products cause of action in section 148 of the Building Safety Act 2022, including what counts as a relevant building and the liability of associated companies.
Section 148 already lets anyone with an interest in a building containing dwellings sue a manufacturer or seller directly if a non-compliant, misleadingly marketed or inherently defective product makes a dwelling unfit to live in. Claims can’t be excluded by contract and can be brought for 15 years, or 30 years looking back for cladding. The direction of travel is clear: liability is widening, and how a business responds when something goes wrong will matter more than ever.
FIS guidance on product non-conformity and recall
FIS has been working with the regulator and is developing guidance for construction product suppliers on what to do when a product may not perform as it should. The guidance separates what the law requires today, what good practice looks like, and what is proposed under construction product reform. Its five key messages are:
- Act on potential risk, not proof. If there is reason to think a product may be unsafe in use, act and report it, whatever standard it is made to. For products under the Construction Products Regulation, a shortfall against declared performance must be corrected, withdrawn or recalled even if it isn’t a safety risk.
- Report through the right route. In Great Britain that is normally Trading Standards or your Primary Authority, working with the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). Reporting is not automatically a route to enforcement. Businesses that find a problem, act on it and keep the regulator informed are treated as acting responsibly.
- Tell your customers early, in writing, with batch detail. For construction products, the installing contractor is usually the first and most important customer to inform.
- Base decisions on an evidenced risk assessment. “It should be alright” won’t satisfy building dutyholders or regulators. The OPSS PRISM method gives a recognised structure.
- Engage insurers early and keep records. Late notification and poor records are the most avoidable sources of loss.
The guidance also covers running a response in line with PAS 7100 and the new PAS 2000:2026 code for construction products, practical traceability (tracing a batch to where it was fixed in a building, not just the site it was delivered to), communications, insurance, and a checklist for the first days of an incident.
Get involved
We’d welcome input from members on your views on the Bill and on the guidance before it is finalised. If you’d like to see the draft and comment, or if your business is currently affected by a product non-conformity or recall issue and would like support, please contact James Parlour (jamesparlour@thefis.org). Members can access the FIS legal helpline for free expert legal advice – early advice is essential on such matters.
- Major milestone reached in ending building safety crisis (GOV.UK)
- Guide to the Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill (GOV.UK)