From 1 October, 2026, a new tax will apply to residential buildings - the Building Safety Levy.
The levy aims to raise funds to remedy defects and improve safety in existing homes affected by the cladding crisis, and almost all new residential buildings in England will be subject to the tax.
The levy regulations will apply to any new home built, or created by the change of use of an existing building, and will be calculated against the square footage of the home and prescribed rates that are contained in the levy regulations.
While LABC Warranty works in exclusive partnership to provide warranty services to Local Authority Building Control sites, we will not collect the levy.
The Local Authority to whom you make your Full Plans Application will collect the levy when a Building Control application is made.
The capacity and workloads of Building Control teams vary, and the last date on which you can apply before your work will be subject to the levy will be before 1 October.
The levy will be made payable from 1 October, but the submission of a Full Plans Application before 1 October is no guarantee that your application will be processed before the levy comes into effect.
We understand you may have developments on the way, and that their financial viability could be affected by an unexpected rise in prices - including the implementation of the levy where you were not anticipating paying it.
If this is the case for your planned works, we encourage you to reach out to the Building Control department of your Local Authority and find out their deadline for applications to be filed before the levy will be charged.
You can find your respective Local Authority Building Control team here.
For more information on the levy, visit the Government’s website here.
Local Authority Building Control is hosting a free webinar on July 9 to cover what developers need to know about how the new tax will affect their work.
If you have any questions about how the levy will affect your business, we strongly recommend you register.
LABC have also produced a handy online guide to the levy and its changes, available here.
For anything else, you're always welcome to contact your LABC Warranty account manager.