The Building Safety Act 2022 came into force fully in October 2023. It was introduced after the tragedy of Grenfell in 2017, and its aim was to make homes safer, especially for those living in high-rise buildings.
The Act is complex legislation, but we’ll focus on what it means for leaseholders and people who are buying and selling flats.
Which buildings does it apply to?
There are a range of provisions in the Act, and it applies to different buildings differently.
But there are special categories for buildings over 11 meters or 5 storeys. If you’re trying to sell a flat in a building like this, the Act should (in theory) make it easier for you.
Similarly, there are greater protections for leaseholders in high-rise buildings which are over 18 meters tall and at least seven storeys.
Historical safety defects are not your responsibility
You may remember that there was some level of panic and confusion after the Grenfell tragedy. People were worried that the cladding on their buildings may also be defective. This raised the question of who was supposed to pay for remedying these historical defects.
For a while, the burden fell on leaseholders who were asked to contribute huge sums.
The Act has introduced some changes to assist with this. Categorically, leaseholders should not be the first port of call to foot the bill for historical safety defects. And building owners cannot charge qualifying leaseholders for the removal of cladding.
Instead landlords are financially liable. The position now is that most major developers have agreed to rectify historic safety defects. No service charge should be payable for these works under the leases, whether they are qualifying or non-qualifying.
There are a few nuances in the legislation though, and the position depends on the type of building you’re in, the type of lease you hold, and which certificates have been served.
Some leaseholders will still have to contribute to the cost of remediation of combustible cladding but their contributions are capped.
If you’re not sure what the rules are in your circumstances, please ask a specialist solicitor with experience and knowledge in this area.
You have more say in the management of the building
The Act introduces new processes for raising building safety concerns to the owners and managers of the building. These people now have a duty to listen to any concerns you have.
If you feel you’re being ignored, you can escalate your concerns to the Building Safety Regulator.
Buying or selling a flat should be easier
For a while, people had great difficulty in selling flats in tall buildings. Buyers had safety concerns, and they were worried about being lumped with an enormous bill for remediation costs.
The Act has dealt with certain issues, but it is far from perfect!
Some things that your solicitor will check for you before you commit to buying a flat are:
- Whether the building is part of a recognised developer self-remediation scheme
- Whether you building is covered by a Government remediation scheme such as the Developer Remediation Contracts
- Whether you are covered by the leaseholder protections within the Building Safety Act
If all of those answers are affirmative, then lenders are more likely to give you a mortgage and the transaction is likely to be more straightforward.
The main takeaway is that remediation costs for historical building safety defects, including cladding will not be passed on to buyers. The Act has changed the position so that qualifying leaseholders and their future buyers do not bear this burden.