The Building Safety Act 2022 (Act) introduced significant changes to the management and remediation of high rise buildings in the UK. One of the key components of this legislation is the requirement for leaseholders to provide a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate. This article will explore some of the reasons why your landlord may have requested this certificate.
What is a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate?
A Leaseholder Deed of Certificate is a document that leaseholders must complete in certain circumstances and which can demonstrate their qualifying status of their lease under the Act. This certificate is essential for landlords, resident management companies (RMCs), right-to-manage companies (RTMs), or named managers to calculate which leaseholders can be required to contribute to building safety costs.
What has triggered my Landlord’s request?
There could be several reasons your Landlord needs to establish whether your lease is a “qualifying” one, meaning it will benefit from the protections offered under the Act:
- If you are in the process of selling your flat; or
- If the Landlord has discovered a “relevant defect” in your building which requires remediation; or
- The Landlord wants to charge a service charge which relates to building safety costs.
The Landlord will need to establish the qualifying status of your lease so that it can budget accordingly and issue invoices to the correct leaseholders and for the correct amounts
You can also volunteer your Leaseholder Deed of Certificate at any time.
What on earth is a “relevant defect”?
It is a building defect that:
- Arises from work carried out on a building (during its construction or at a later stage);
- Creates a building safety risk (meaning it endangers people from the spread of fire or structural collapse); and
- Falls within a specific 30-year period from June 1992 to June 2022 or relates to works carried out during that period.
Well, that sounds terrifying. What should I do?
- Complete and return the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate as your Landlord has requested.
- Make sure you have completed and signed this correctly and enclosed the necessary documentary evidence.
- Make sure you do so in the manner requested by your Landlord. This may be via on online portal or by post.
- Seek confirmation from your Landlord that the Certificate has been received.
- You can seek an extension to the 8 week time limit to send the Certificate to your Landlord if you need it.
If you do not provide your Certificate to your Landlord within the timeframes set out under the Act, your lease will be assumed to be a non-qualifying one, meaning there will be no cap applied to the amount you (or future owners of your flat) can be charged for remediating a relevant defect unless the Landlord or an associate of the Landlord is responsible for the relevant defect. This could affect the future value of your lease.
We can help you to complete your Leaseholder Deed of Certificate. Please contact us if you need help with this or have any questions relating to the BSA.