This Q&A assumes that the cladding in question does not form part of the flat demise itself but rather the external envelope of the building in which it is situated. It is not known whether an EWS1 form has been issued in respect of the building or whether a plan for remediation has been agreed. External Wall System (EWS) ratings are the way building owners can confirm to valuers and lenders that an external wall system has been assessed by a suitable expert and whether any works are needed. This includes any cladding that may be present. A B2 rating on an EWS1 form means that an adequate standard of fire safety is not achieved, with works and interim measures required to remove combustible materials. This does not mean that the building is unsafe, but it does mean that remedial works are recommended due to the presence of

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974) sets out duties of: • employers, in relation to their employees and those who are not employees, but who may be affected by the employer’s undertaking • self-employed people, in relation to themselves and non-employees who may be affected by their undertaking • people with control of non-domestic premises, in relation to those who are not their employees but who use those premises made available to them as a place of work or as a place where they may use plant or substances provided for their use there An employer has a duty in relation to employees, to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, their health, safety and welfare at work. For further information, see Practice Note: Safety and the risk to safety under the Health

You may find useful Practice Note: LTA 1954 business lease renewal—termination which covers the validity of service, interaction with break notices and periodic tenancies, tactical considerations in timing of section 25 notices and proceedings, and withdrawing or amending section 25 notices. It should be noted that the 'health warning'

The terms of acquisition on a collective enfranchisement claim are partly statutory and partly subject to agreement between the parties. Schedule 7 of The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 sets out those matters which should be reflected in the terms of the conveyance. These are broadly concerned rights of way, rights of support and restrictive covenants. The remaining terms are open to negotiation between the parties. Prior to completion it is likely that the landlord will require

Case study A tenant had accumulated more than two months' worth of rent arrears in a property owned and managed by a landlord. Due to an accidental fire at the property, the same landlord agreed to move the tenant to a new property which they also own and manage. The tenant has now accumulated over a month's worth of rent arrears at the new property. The tenant occupied both the first and the second property under fixed-term tenancies. We are not aware of any authority which would suggest that a landlord can aggregate arrears of rent accrued under a separate tenancy agreement in respect of a separate property under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988), relying on ground 8 of HA 1988, Sch 2, Pt

The law requires that leaseholders paying variable service charges must be consulted before a landlord carries out qualifying works or enters into a long-term agreement for the provision of services. This is provided for as per section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) (as amended by section 151 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002)). This legislation sets out the procedure which landlords must follow, which is found in the Service Charges (Consultation Requirements) (England) Regulations 2003 (the Regulations), SI 2003/1987. The rationale behind the regime is to ensure that tenants are not required to pay for unnecessary or poor services, or required to pay too much for the same. Landlord’s obligations Dealing firstly with any obligation of the landlord to complete the

A landlord’s primary remedy for a tenant’s failure to pay rent is a money claim for the arrears. The lease may also be forfeited if (as is usual) it contains a clause to that effect. For guidance on the remedies available, see Practice Note: Recovering rent arrears. The

Chapter II of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (LRHUDA 1993) affords the right to a qualifying tenant to obtain a new lease for a term of 90 years after the expiration date of the original lease, at a peppercorn rent. The procedure is commenced by the tenant serving a notice under LRHUDA 1993, s 42, setting out the terms on which they propose to acquire the new lease. The section 42 notice must specify a date by which the landlord must give a counter-notice under LRHUDA 1993, s 45, which must be not less than two months after the section

The key regulations governing Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/3118 (EPC Regs 2012) (the Regulations), as amended and the Building Regulations 2010, SI 2010/2214, which implement the requirements of the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU, (recast EPBD directive). EPC Regs 2012 apply to all buildings across England and Wales. We refer you to the relevant sections of the Regulations: 6 Energy performance certificates on sale and rent (1) Subject to regulation 8, this regulation applies where a building is to be sold or rented out. (2) The relevant person shall make available free of charge a valid energy

A landlord is not a party to the sale of the lease. It is under no legal obligation to answer LEP1 enquiries unless there is an obligation to do so under the terms of the lease. However, where the landlord is required to give consent to the assignment, this consent will be subject to a duty not unreasonably to withhold it. See section 1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act

It will be recalled that irrespective of whether an assured tenancy is for a fixed-term or periodic, there is no right to forfeit it for breach of one of its terms. Possession can only be recovered in accordance with the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988). Where there has been a breach, notice under HA 1988, s 8 can be served. This must set out which of the grounds contained in HA 1988, Sch 2 is relied upon by the landlord for obtaining possession. Many of them are based upon a default by the tenant (such as ground 12 being a breach of the tenancy agreement, or grounds 8, 10 and 11 being a failure

On normal commercial lease terms, a claim will accrue to the landlord at the end of a lease in respect of any breaches of the tenant's covenants outstanding at the end of the term. In many cases, a tenant will also have a separate covenant to yield up the premises in repair and in compliance with the tenant's covenants in the lease. Breach of these covenants will give the landlord a claim in damages. Normal common law principles apply to the assessment of damages for dilapidations. These are tempered by the provisions of section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 (LTA 1927). At common law, the measure of