Milton Keynes starts collecting Building Safety Levy from housebuilders

Milton Keynes City Council has started collecting the Building Safety Levy from housing developers, charging schemes of 10 homes or more per square metre of floorspace on building control applications made from 1 October 2026.

The council said it collects the charge in its role as the local Building Control Authority and is responsible for making sure it is paid. Developers must supply levy information as part of the building control process, and the council said properties cannot receive final completion certificates until the charge has been settled.

Cllr Sam Crooks, Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services at Milton Keynes City Council, said: "Residents rightly expect homes to be safe and the levy is an important step in making sure companies who build and profit from new developments contribute towards resolving building safety issues."

The council said it owns no tower blocks or buildings with problematic cladding itself. Money it collects will be passed to the Government to support remediation work, which the council said would help protect leaseholders from facing the costs themselves.

The rates

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) describes the levy as a tax on new residential buildings, with income contributing to fixing building safety defects across England. The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 were made on 19 November 2025 and the levy came into operation on 1 October 2026, with local authorities acting as collecting authorities.

Government guidance says the levy applies to major residential development, defined as 10 new dwellings or more, or 30 new bedspaces or more for purpose-built student accommodation. Rates for each local authority area are set in Schedule 3 to the regulations and charged per square metre of chargeable floorspace, with the previously developed land rate set at half the standard rate.

The GOV.UK rates table lists Milton Keynes at £30.63 per sq m for land that has not been previously developed and £15.32 per sq m for previously developed land.

Milton Keynes levy rate	£ per sq m
Previously developed land	15.32
Non-previously developed land	30.63

The council's own developer guidance says the charge applies to new residential dwellings and purpose-built student accommodation, that applications submitted before 1 October 2026 are not affected, and that payment must be made before occupation or completion. "Failure to pay will result in withholding of completion certificates," the guidance says.

Exemptions and checks

The council said affordable housing, supported housing and some not-for-profit developments are exempt. MHCLG guidance lists non-profit registered providers of social housing, such as housing associations, among exempt persons.

MHCLG's advice to local authorities says collecting authorities may carry out spot checks on the accuracy of the levy information a client has provided.

The Building Safety Regulator said the levy will fund remediation such as cladding, including in social housing, where responsible developers cannot be identified or held liable.

The national picture

As at the end of September 2026, MHCLG said 4,732 residential buildings 11 metres and over had been identified with unsafe cladding. Of those, 1,878 (40%) had completed remediation and a further 743 (16%) had started work.