High Court dismisses challenge to decision that Grenfell main contractor ‘unfit’ to remediate buildings

On 29 August 2025 the High Court handed down judgment in R (Rydon Group Holdings Limited) v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2025] EWHC 2182 (Admin).

The Judge (Mr. Justice Choudhury) dismissed the application for judicial review by Rydon Group Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Rydon Maintenance Ltd (the main contractor for the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower prior to the tragedy in 2017), upholding three decisions made by the then Secretary of State under the Self-Remediation Terms (SRTs) in relation to a series of buildings in East London previously developed by Rydon Group companies. The SRTs require certain developers to remediate and/or fund the remediation of defective buildings and are a central part of the building safety landscape post the Grenfell fire. The decisions found Rydon unfit to undertake remediation works at the buildings in question and instead required Rydon to reimburse the Building Safety Fund for the cost of remediation. The judge found the decisions were not amenable to judicial review save on ‘bad faith’ grounds, and dismissed the substantive grounds of challenge in any event.

The judgment provides important guidance on the amenability and scope of judicial review of governmental decisions made pursuant to contractual rights.

39 Essex Chambers’ barristers Jack Holborn and Alexander Burrell, acted for the Secretary of State, together with Tom Cleaver and led by Sir James Eadie KC.

Please find the full judgment: here