Building Safety: Call For Evidence On Leaseholder-Owned Buildings

This week, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has published a call for evidence on the issues in leaseholder-owned buildings in England (11m+ or five storeys+) with relevant building safety defects, that are covered by the leaseholder protections in other buildings, under a 12-week open consultation.

This comes following the Government’s decision that leaseholder protection provisions in Part 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022 would not apply to leaseholder-owned and commonhold buildings. This was because leaseholders, in their capacity as freeholders rather than as leaseholders, would still have had to pay to remedy the safety defects in their building.

The evidence gathered during the consultation will help inform Government policy in determining how best to protect the leaseholders in such buildings from the impact of building safety defects.

Given the scope of the consultation, and the complex issues and potential implications on future building safety legislation and funding routes, we encourage TPI members to share this opportunity to supply evidence with your resident directors for eligible buildings (England-only, and buildings above 11 metres, or over five storeys), and offer any support and guidance they may need in responding to the consultation.

The full Consultation Document and Scope's deadline for submission is 14^th November 2022.