04/10/2023

The Act came into force in June 2022 and was subsequently amended in July 2023. The intention of the Act is to provide protection for leaseholders in respect of costs passed onto them, to make the building safe.

The Government is clear that developers must bear the cost of correcting the building they developed or refurbished and tries to ensure owners are not faced with historical costs.

These costs could result from works in the last 30 years causing a risk to safety of people in or about the building, arising from fire safety or collapse, although the provisions of the Act are not restricted to fire safety alone.

For owners to receive protection, they must meet certain criteria. They must be “qualifying leaseholders” owning a flat in a “relevant building”. These are defined within the Act.

A Qualifying Lease for the purpose of this Act is to which leasehold protection applies must meet all of the following:-

• A long lease (more than 21 years in length) of a single dwelling within a building of above 11m or at least 5 storeys

• You are responsible for paying service charge

• The lease was granted before 14 February 2022

• On 14 February 2022 the dwelling was your only or main home, or you did not own more than 3 dwellings in the UK

The leaseholder protection applies to leaseholders in a “Relevant Building” for the purpose of the Act, defined as meeting all of the following:-

• Is at least 11m high or has at least 5 storeys, whichever is reached first

• Contains at least 2 dwellings

• Is not a leaseholder owned building

Your current landlord must provide you with a Landlord’s Deed of Certificate in any of the following instances:-

• They want to pass onto you part of the remediation cost via service charge

• Within 4 weeks of receiving notification your leasehold interest is to be sold

• Within 4 weeks of them becoming aware of a relevant defect not covered by a previous landlord’s certificate

• Within 4 weeks of you requesting a landlord’s certificate

• Within 4 weeks of becoming aware of a new leaseholder deed of certificate which contained information not included in a previous landlord’s certificate

If your current landlord does not provide a valid landlord’s certificate which complies with the Act, they will be unable to pass costs for remediation onto you.

The leaseholder Deed of Certificate sets out information that the landlord will need, in order to ascertain your qualifying status and any remediation cap. You can choose to produce a certificate at any point, but must provide one if you receive notice to do so.

If you are selling your property, a buyer will want to know whether a Landlord’s Certificate has been issued and whether the seller has been issued with one, or requested to provide the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate. It is advisable to consider this before you place your property on the market, as it can take some considerable time for them to be issued. Mortgage lenders are likely to require the conveyancer to have a copy.

For more detailed information, visit the gov.uk website. The link below also provides useful information for leaseholders.
www.gov.uk/guidance/building-safety-leaseholder-protections-guidance-for-leaseholders