Building Safety Levy - Consultation response - February 2024 Summary

302132 Page 1 Our response We write in response to the request for views on the design and implementation of the Building Safety Levy, as set out in the consultation document published on 23 January 2024 by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). [...] Question 3: Do you have any comments on the process for the collection of the levy? Recalculation of levy in the event of change in development or availability of exemptions We note that government is considering requiring updated levy information in the event that there is a change in the development or in the availability of an exemption prior to completion. [...] To ensure that the Building Safety Levy is not incurred indirectly by registered providers of social housing, there must be a mechanism whereby the levy can be refunded to a developer if a building is subsequently transferred to a registered provider of social housing and used to provide affordable homes. [...] A proportion of the profits from the joint venture are returned to the participating housing association, providing funds for the development of affordable homes and thereby helping to ‘bridge the gap’ between the amount that needs to be spent on affordable housing and the funding available from government grants and debt. [...] The government’s response to the previous consultation recognises, quite correctly, that the development of non-social homes by a not-for-profit registered provider’s subsidiary company is a component of the registered provider’s operating model to provide more affordable homes and to reinvest profits for the benefit of social/affordable residents.