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Housebuilder Persimmon is understood to have sought legal advice from a QC over the government鈥檚 threat to stop housebuilders from trading if they don鈥檛 pay into a 鈥渧oluntary鈥� fire safety repair fund.

The housebuilder declined to comment after the on Saturday that Lord Pannick QC had advised it that housing secretary Michael Gove is acting unlawfully in threatening builders over an estimated 拢4bn bill for repairs to mid-rise blocks of between 11m and 18m in height.

The newspaper said Persimmon鈥檚 chief executive, Dean Finch, had written to the Department For Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, stating that 鈥淧ersimmon has been advised that it would be unlawful for the secretary of state to implement his suggested sanctions of imposing penalties on developers who decline to enter into the proposed agreement, for example by calling-in planning applications, removal of developers from the Help to Buy scheme and the proposed ban from competing for future contracts with Homes England鈥�.

In a letter sent on 4 February, Gove also threatened to stop housebuilders from trading if they didn鈥檛 sign up to a heads of terms agreeing to pay an undisclosed sum into the fund.

The Times said Dean Finch鈥檚 letter to the department added: 鈥淭o paraphrase his clear advice, Lord Pannick has said these sanctions would, if implemented, be unlawful primarily because the secretary of state is threatening to penalise the developers for declining to do what they have no legal obligation to do and is proposing to penalise them by 鈥� using powers conferred for different purposes.鈥�

Housebuilders have branded the government鈥檚 move, which comes on top of the introduction of a 拢2bn levy to pay for high-rise repairs and 拢1bn spent by housebuilders repairing their own buildings, as 鈥渜uasi Marxist鈥�.

While the housebuilders鈥� trade body, the HBF has been open about the fact it is taking legal advice over the government鈥檚 threat, individual housebuilders initially appeared reluctant to break cover and publicly criticise the government.

However, last week Redrow chief executive Matthew Pratt became the first to do so, branding Gove鈥檚 threats as 鈥渦nrealistic鈥� and 鈥渋nequitable鈥�.

Pratt said: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone can sign a deal that says 鈥榶ou will give me anything I want鈥�. Which basically [is saying that at] the end of the year 鈥榳e鈥檒l tell you how much it [the cost] is and you鈥檒l sign up to say you鈥檒l give us it.鈥� Nobody can sign up to that, it鈥檚 unrealistic.鈥�

Gove鈥檚 threat follows his decision, announced last month, to protect leaseholders entirely from the costs of fire safety repairs to homes now deemed to be at risk, and instead to attempt to get housebuilders and materials manufacturers to pay into a 拢4bn fund. The bill is in addition to the cost of paying for the repair of problems on homes they themselves have built.

However, housebuilders dispute the 拢4bn price tag, and say that other developers, contractors, designers, subcontractors, insurers and government should all share the cost.

A spokesperson for the department said: 鈥淲e expect industry to pay to fix unsafe buildings - nothing is off the table.

鈥淎t a recent meeting, bosses of the country鈥檚 biggest developers agreed leaseholders should not pay. Now we need a fully funded plan from them by early March. If not, we will impose a solution in law.鈥�