Interim Measures Alarm Fund IMAF

On the 1 April, 2026 the Government announced the new Interim Measures Alarm Fund (IMAF) to further incentivise the installation of common fire alarms in buildings waiting for remediation works to be completed.

The fund has been set up to avoid the current reliance on costly waking watch arrangements to manage the risk to life associated with fire, it aims to:

• improve resident safety
• reduce the financial burden on leaseholders
• support remediation programmes
• reduce reliance on manual fire wardens
• install more effective, long-term alarm systems

The fund is separate from, and builds on the work of Waking Watch Relief Fund 2021, 2022 and 2023. This aims for more residents to be kept safe in their homes and leaseholders could save hundreds of pounds each month thanks to new £62.7 million government funding for fire alarms in at risk buildings.

The new Interim Measures Alarm Fund will further incentivise the installation of common fire alarms in buildings waiting for remediation works to be completed. The long-term funding builds on the success of the Waking Watch Replacement Fund (WWRF), which closed on 31 March 2026, and is a response to plans announced in the Remediation Acceleration Plan update in July 2025.

The funding will support residents in eligible buildings to remain safe in their homes and potentially save leaseholders hundreds of pounds each month, protecting them from ongoing interim measures costs whilst they wait for remediation to be completed.

The new scheme replaces the WWRF after it closed for new applications on 31 March 2026, ensuring ongoing support to building leaseholders and residents throughout the remaining operation of the government’s remediation schemes up to 2035, subject to eligibility and assessment.

Since first launching in 2021, the WWRF has approved c.£71.7m in grant funding to install alarms in 801 buildings across the country, helping to keep residents safe in their homes while their buildings await remediation and protecting leaseholders from the ongoing cost of waking watch. It is estimated that the fund has saved the leaseholders who have benefitted approximately £273 per month.

Following the Grenfell Tower Inquiry final report, the Prime Minister committed the government to producing a plan for accelerating remediation. The Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) was published in December 2024, setting out the government’s plan for overcoming the most significant barriers that have been identified by stakeholders, delivery partners, residents’ groups and policy teams as delaying the pace of remediation. The RAP has three core objectives: Fix buildings faster, identify all 11m+ buildings with unsafe cladding, buildings and support residents.

One of the key measures announced in the December 2024 RAP publication was an extension of the current iteration of the WWRF to 31 March 2026, alongside a commitment to confirm long-term plans for the fund. Within the July 2025 RAP 2 update, the government announced plans to launch a new, long-term fund to run continuously for the remaining operation of the government’s remediation schemes.

Homes England will deliver the new long-term fund via the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) platform.

More information on the fund, including eligibility criteria and guidance on how to apply can be found here.

This article was issued via a government press release as "New £62m fund for fire alarms to keep residents safe and costs down for leaseholders" dated 1 April. 2026.

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