Rosenblatt
  • About
    • Memery Crystal
    • Investors
  • Services

    Services

    Rosenblatt is a disputes powerhouse. Competitive in the best sense, our teams provide incisive specialist expertise and collaborate closely with one another to meet our clients’ needs across the full spectrum of their activities.

    • Dispute Resolution
    • Construction, Engineering and Energy
    • Corporate Investigations
    • Debt Recovery
    • DLT, Digital Assets, and Tokenisation
    • Financial Crime
    • Financial Services
    • Insolvency & Financial Restructuring
    • International Arbitration
    • Probate & Wills
    • Serious & General Crime
    • Tax
    • Non-Contentious & Advisory
  • Insight
  • Events
  • Group Litigation
    • Amazon Legal Action
    • Property Investment Scheme Claims
    • Apple Class Action
  • Contact

Cladding – how the future looks

26th September 2017

The construction industry continues to focus on the ongoing review of cladding materials and their use as part of the fall-out from the Grenfell Tower fire. Renovation of Grenfell Tower saw new cladding and insulation fitted to its exterior and it is suspected that the materials used were flammable and acted as a catalyst in spreading the fire. The Government has now approved the public inquiry’s terms of reference which include:

  • the design and construction of the building, including its refurbishment and management; and
  • the scope and adequacy of Building Regulations, including guidance on fire safety and other legislation, guidance and industry practice relating to the design, construction, equipping and management of high rise residential buildings.

It is worth noting that the inquiry’s remit falls short of examining the wider construction industry and the existing procurement landscape. That is to say that the inquiry will not deal with the often complicated division of design responsibility on a construction project and the different routes by which a construction project can be structured. Industry commentators have speculated that addressing those type of concerns would have assisted in dealing with the context of the procurement decisions taken in relation to Grenfell Tower and its refurbishment. Nevertheless, as a result of this recent tragedy, many in the construction industry have been undertaking a whole-scale review of their cladding works, materials and contractual responsibilities.

The majority of construction contracts require a contractor, sub-contractor or consultant to comply with good industry practice, undertake work with reasonable skill and care and comply with all relevant statutory requirements, which here would include compliance with Building Regulations. Additionally, construction contracts usually contain clauses that prohibit the use and specification for use of deleterious materials. “Deleterious materials” is then usually defined as being those which are known or generally known to be or suspected of posing a health and safety threat, posing a threat to the structural stability or durability of the works or project and failing to be in accordance with industry standards and codes of practice.

It would be prudent for those involved in the review of existing cladding or specifying cladding materials for use in future projects to ensure that their contracts include adequate wording concerning the use and/or specification for use of deleterious materials. In terms of future projects, it would be worth considering whether such contractual provisions are drafted widely enough to capture any particular concerns about cladding materials and whether these would be considered “deleterious” for the purposes of the contract. The requirement prohibiting the use of deleterious materials will generally be the more onerous contractual requirement.

As a consequence of testing and/or review, should it be found on a project that cladding has been installed in breach of these contractual obligations then the responsibility will lie with the construction professional concerned. Formal legal proceedings may ensue if the relevant professional, more likely its insurers refuse to accept that responsibility and consequently payout. In addition, the majority of construction contracts have either 6 or 12 year limitation periods, meaning that after that specified period of time, a claim under that contract would not be able to be brought. In identifying any possible issues, it would be prudent to ensure when contractual documentation was entered into in the event of a possible claim and whether this remains viable. As part of this exercise it would also be worthwhile to check that adequate insurance provisions are in place, particularly in the scenario of multiple sites. As part of that exercise a review of other security documentation (by way of example parent company guarantees and/or bonds) in place or to be put in place would ensure that the financial security and construction assurance on a project has been further assessed.

If you would like any further information, please contact Elizabeth Weeks on 0207 955 1469.

This article should not be taken as definitive legal advice on any of the subjects covered. If you do require legal advice, please contact Rosenblatt as above. 

This article was first published in Emap’s Construction News on 7 September 2017.

Post navigation

Rosenblatt hosts a delegation of Chinese law firms during their visit to London.
Rosenblatt supports Target Ovarian Cancer’s TAKE OVAR campaign

Categories

  • Articles
  • News
  • Videos

Topics

  • Banking & Finance
  • Competition & Regulatory
  • Corporate
  • Dispute Resolution
  • DLT, Cryptocurrencies and Crypto Assets
  • Employment
  • Financial Crime
  • Financial Services
  • Insolvency & Financial Restructuring
  • International Arbitration
  • Investigations
  • IP/Technology/Media
  • Real Estate
  • Tax
Rosenblatt
  • +44 (0) 20 7955 0880
  • info@rosenblatt-law.co.uk

Helpful Links

  • Anti-Modern Slavery Statement
  • Complaints Policy
  • Diversity & Equality
  • Interest
  • Pricing
  • Subscribe to our Mailing List

SRA No. 820215, authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Ce Logo
Uk Top Tier Firm 2026

Rosenblatt is a trading name of RBG Legal Services Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (with company number 13287062) and which is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA No. 820215. A list of the directors of RBG Legal Services Limited, together with a list of those persons who are designated as partners of Rosenblatt, is available for inspection at the registered office of the company at 165 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2DY.

Rosenblatt uses the word “partner” to refer to a senior employee or consultant. However, Rosenblatt is not a partnership and the use of the term “partner” does not create or imply a partnership amongst or between any of its employees or consultants.

© 2025 Rosenblatt

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Website by Brighter*IR

link

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in .

Rosenblatt
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookies should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

Performance cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Cookie Policy

More information about our Cookie Policy.