Set to come into force from April 2028, the Building Safety Levy Bill aims to raise £450 million over 15 years to help fund work to fix residential buildings with unsafe cladding which have no linked developer.

The bill, which is in line with equivalent legislation in England, includes provisions to exempt certain types of development, including social and affordable housing.

The legislation sets out a provision for a regular review period for the levy, which will be an opportunity to consider the revenue target in light of the prevailing housing market and wider economic conditions, as well as the emerging position on the scale and profile of spending on the government’s cladding remediation work.

The measures were opposed by 77% of respondents during their consultation and were not endorsed by the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee, which concluded that the programme carried “significant risk” to the housing market.

Public finance minister Ivan McKee said: “The Scottish Government has stepped in to marshall the necessary work to protect and repair Scotland’s existing housing stock and to ensure it is properly funded.

“Cladding remediation is set to cost between £1.7 billion and £3.1bn over the next 15 years. To ensure Scotland’s public finances are sustainable, it is right that a contribution to these costs is made by the residential property development industry, just as they will be doing in England.

“All revenues raised will be spent on efforts to rehabilitate existing stock, which will improve safety for residents and homeowners and support the alleviation of the housing emergency.”

Since the bill’s introduction in June last year, the Scottish Government has deferred the introduction of the levy to April 2028, supported an amendment to increase the annual levy-free allowance per taxpayer, and introduced provisions which will tie the use of the funds raised to the operation of the Cladding Remediation Programme.