Housebuilder Persimmon has set aside £75m to pay for work to remove and address potentially unsafe cladding on 26 multi-storey buildings.
The York company said it would book the charge in its 2020 results to cover its contribution for work on buildings which it constructed in the past.
The issue of potentially unsafe cladding has been in the public eye since the Grenfell disaster of 2017, and it has today emerged that the Government is set to announce billions of pounds in funding to help tackle the crisis.
Persimmon has identified nine high-rise buildings over 18 metres built by the group where cladding may need to be removed, although it no longer owns the sites. There are also a further 17 buildings less than 18 metres tall that may be fitted with unsafe cladding and need investigating.
Persimmon said it believes it accounts for less than 1% of all high-rise developments and though its developments met regulations at the time, they have “used cladding materials which may now be considered unsafe and require removal.”
Persimmon chairman Roger Devlin said: “At Persimmon we believe we have a clear duty to act to address this issue.
“So today we are setting aside £75m towards any necessary cladding remediation and safety work in 26 developments we built.
“Where we still own the building we will act. Where we no longer own them we will work with the owners to make sure they meet their legal responsibilities and duty.
Most Read
“If the owner does not step up then we will act to remove uncertainty and anxiety for residents and make the buildings safe.”
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is expected to address the Commons on Wednesday where it is believed he will set out a package of measures. According to reports, plans under consideration include a £5bn grant on top of the £1.6bn safety fund that leaseholders can currently apply to.
The House of Commons has previously heard how huge numbers of people, especially leaseholders, are “stuck in the middle” and living in “unsafe homes” which they cannot sell, but are being asked to “foot the bill” for remediation works.
Earlier this month, Labour demanded the creation of a national taskforce to “get a grip” on the cladding crisis, with their opposition motion supported by 263 votes to zero.
Last week fellow housebuilding giant Barratt also reported that it had set aside a multimillion-pound sum to deal with cladding issues.