This Practice Note summarises what landlord’s certificates are under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022), and the form, content, deadlines for landlord’s certificates (and former landlord’s certificates) and consequences of failure to comply with the relevant statutory provisions. Landlord’s certificate—when it must be provided and time limits A landlord’s certificate provides a leaseholder with information relating to the landlord’s net worth and the extent to which the landlord was responsible for identified fire safety defects. This enables a leaseholder to identify whether or not the landlord is prevented from recovering the cost of remedying the defect through the service charge by virtue of: • BSA 2022, Schedule 8, paragraph 2 (the para 2 responsibility condition) —ie the landlord was responsible for the defect or associated with the person responsible—see Practice Note: Building Safety Act 2022—landlord and tenant issues — Circumstances where no service charge is payable for remediation; or • BSA 2022, Sch 8, paragraph 3 (the para 3 contribution condition) — ie at the qualifying time (14 February 2022 — see Practice Note: Building

This Checklist summarises the trigger events and timing for service of a landlord’s certificate and former landlord’s certificate under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) and the consequences of failure to comply with the relevant statutory provisions. For full guidance, see Practice Notes: • Building Safety Act 2022—landlord’s certificate • Building Safety Act 2022—landlord and tenant issues Trigger events and timing • has the current landlord (here as defined in SI 2022/711, reg 1(3) as ‘person who is the landlord under a lease of premises in a relevant building’) set up a system to ensure that a landlord’s certificate is provided in compliance with any of the trigger events below? ◦ is a demand for a remediation service charge going to be made? If so, the landlord’s certificate must be provided at the same time—accordingly, a landlord should ensure they have all information required to complete the landlord’s certificate (see below) before serving the remediation service charge demand in order that it can be served with the demand ◦ has the landlord received notification

The government introduced the Building Safety Bill (the Bill) to Parliament in July 2021, intending to deliver on the recommendations and principles identified in Dame Judith Hackitt’s ‘Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety’. The Bill received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022, becoming the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). BSA 2022 introduces fundamental reforms to the law and regulation of building safety, which seek to ‘secure the safety of people in or about buildings and improve the standard of buildings’. For guidance on the scope of the BSA 2022, and commentary on its key provisions, see Practice Note: Building Safety Act 2022—key provisions and issues. The changes introduced by the BSA 2022 include the creation of statutory rights of action against parties that have supplied cladding and construction products which cause a residential property to become ‘unfit for habitation’. This Practice Note provides guidance on these provisions, which are contained in BSA 2022, ss 147–151. It looks in particular at the conditions which must be satisfied in order

This Practice Note provides guidance as to who can apply for remediation orders and remediation contribution orders, what the orders relate to, who they can be made against, and the application process. The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) contains provisions intended to protect certain leaseholders of ‘relevant buildings’ in England (section 117) from the costs of rectifying certain historic building safety related defects, and making provision for the recovery of those amounts from persons who are landlords under leases of the building (or any part of it) under sections 116–124 and Schedule 8. The effect of these provisions is that in certain situations, landlords will be unable to reclaim some or all of the costs they incur in remedying fire safety related defects from leaseholders via the service charge. As this may lead to landlords accordingly holding off on remedying fire safety related defects, BSA 2022 also contains provisions whereby certain defined persons are able to apply to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) in England for an order that:

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017, Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety identified the need for a fundamental shift in thinking in relation to building safety. In her final report published in May 2018 she emphasised ‘…there is a need for a radical rethink of the whole system and how it works. This is most definitely not just a question of the specification of cladding systems, but of an industry that has not reflected and learned for itself, nor looked to other sectors’. The result of the enquiry into building safety was the much talked about and anticipated Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) which received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. BSA 2022 represents the fundamental shift in the approach to building safety and the regulation of higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in England that Dame Judith Hackitt called for. At the heart of this radical regime was the creation of a new Building Safety Regulator (BSR) which initially

Construction analysis: The recently enacted Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) makes large changes to the law in England and Wales in relation to construction projects, health and safety regulation and leaseholder rights. While many aspects of BSA 2022 do not extend to Scotland, some do, and their impact is likely to be significant. Shona Frame and Amy Roberts of CMS (Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP) provide an overview of BSA 2022’s impact on the Scottish legal landscape.

These training materials contain template PowerPoint slides and associated notes for use by a trainer when providing an introduction to the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). Topics covered include: Background to and overview of BSA 2022, the Building Safety Regulator, Dutyholders, Higher Risk Building Regime and claims and liabilities arising from building safety defects and construction products. The materials are available in both PowerPoint and Word formats and are fully customisable. Click the link below to download the presentation: Contents • Background to and overview of BSA 2022 ◦ Hackitt report ◦ Building Safety Act

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) paved the way for significant changes to the law on building safety. For general information on the reforms introduced by BSA 2022 and its key provisions, see Practice Note: Building Safety Act 2022—key provisions and issues. BSA 2022, Pts 3 and 4 provided the framework for a new regulatory system applicable to ‘higher-risk buildings’ (HRBs). Through amendments to the Building Act 1984 (BA 1984), BSA 2022, Pt 3 enabled the creation of a stringent building control regime applicable to the design and construction of works to HRBs. The requirements of this regime were set out in a package of secondary legislation laid in August 2023, and which came into force on 1 October 2023. BSA 2022, Pt 4 imposes extensive risk management and reporting obligations on those responsible for occupied HRBs. These measures are referred to, collectively, as the HRB regime. This Practice Note considers which types of buildings and associated works are ‘in scope’ of the HRB regime, by reference to the definitions, criteria

Property disputes analysis: In Grey GR Ltd Partnership v Edgewater (Stevenage) and others, the Upper Tribunal has dismissed the respondents’ appeal against the First Tier Tribunal decision granting a remediation contribution order (RCO) under section 124 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) against 75 respondents. Marcus Birch of BCLP considers the matter.

The Scottish Government has introduced the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill in Parliament. If passed, the Bill will impose a new tax on the construction of certain new residential properties. The legislation, set to come into force on 1 April 2027, aims to raise £30m annually to help fund the remediation of residential buildings with unsafe cladding that have no linked developer. The Bill provides exemptions for social and affordable housing developments, with specific tax rates to be determined through subsequent regulations. Subject to Parliamentary approval, secondary legislation and preparatory work by Revenue Scotland will be required before the Building Safety Levy (BSL) can be implemented. In addition, the Bill includes a provision for regular reviews of the BSL to assess revenue targets in light of prevailing housing market conditions, wider economic factors, and the evolving scale and cost of cladding remediation work. The Scottish Government has also published an analysis of responses to its September 2024 public consultation on the BSL.

Construction analysis: The Building Safety Regulator (Establishment of New Body and Transfer of Functions etc.) Regulations 2026, represent a notable shift in the government’s post-Grenfell building safety reforms. By establishing the Building Safety Regulator as a standalone body, separate from the Health and Safety Executive and sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, the government intends to strengthen oversight and accountability, and move closer to a single construction regulator. Written by Katherine Metcalfe, partner at Pinsent Masons.

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) has published its strategic plan for the period from April 2026 to March 2027. The plan focuses on five priority areas: (1) improving operational practices; (2) providing remediation support; (3) overseeing building phases; (4) enhancing safety monitoring and (5) raising professional standards. By March 2027, the BSR aims to process Gateway 2 applications for new buildings within 18 weeks and to handle remediation applications for non-complex cases within 12 weeks. Both targets are set to achieve a 65% approval rating.