Gove: Homebuilders to put £2bn towards unsafe cladding

However, a further £3bn is still needed to address flammable cladding in high-rise buildings across the country.

Gove said the additional funds would be raised by extending the building safety levy, which would force industry to pay for remedial work on buildings in cases where the developer cannot be found or payment cannot be extracted.

It will be paid for by developers that apply for building control approval for higher-risk residential buildings in England.

Gove warned companies not yet signed up to the voluntary pledge that they “would face the consequences” if they fail to do so.

In February the government announced the building safety bill, which gave the housing secretary authority to block those who refuse to make the commitment from building and selling new homes. The proposed laws aim to ensure leaseholders have a cap on the costs of historical safety defects.

Gove said: “Today marks a significant step towards protecting innocent leaseholders and ensuring those responsible pay to solve the crisis they helped to cause. I welcome the move by many of the largest developers to do the right thing.

“But this is just the beginning. We will do whatever it takes to hold industry to account, and under our new measures there will be nowhere to hide”.