the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/1230) came into force on 21 December 2018. Whilst the Regulations extend to England and Wales, they actually do not apply to any building in Wales, as the power to make and amend Buildings Regulations has been devolved to the Welsh Government since 2011. However it is expected that the Welsh Assembly will ratify similar regulations in due course.
The Regulations ban the use of combustible materials in the external walls of high rise residential buildings and apply to:

• All new residential buildings containing 1 or more dwellings above 18 metres in height; and

• New dormitories in boarding schools, student accommodation, registered care homes and hospitals above 18 metres

The ban also applies where building work is a material change of use that brings an existing building within one of these categories.
The amendments apply to all new applicable buildings unless a building notice or an initial notice had been given to, or full plans deposited with, a local authority before 21 December 2018 and either the building work to which it relates:

(a) Had started before that day; or

(b) Is started within a 2 month period beginning on that day.

Whilst not referred to in the Regulations, the press release announcing the cladding ban also set out the Government’s “full backing” for local authorities to enable them to carry out emergency work on affected private residential buildings with unsafe aluminium composite material. This includes financial backing, although local authorities will be expected to recover the cost from building owners.