Getting your building's cladding put right

If you own a flat in a block that needs its outside walls made safe, the goal is usually simple. The work gets done, the cost stays off your own bill where the law allows, and you can sell or remortgage when you choose.

These notes explain the protections for leaseholders in England, how the work gets paid for, and the paperwork that helps when you sell.

How the work gets paid for

Many developers have agreed to fix life-critical fire safety defects in buildings they built or refurbished in England in the 30 years up to 4 April 2022.

Where no developer can be identified or held responsible, the Cladding Safety Scheme can fund the cladding work. Homes England runs it for the government. The building's responsible entity applies, such as the freeholder, a right-to-manage company or a resident management company. Leaseholders can ask them to apply.

What leaseholders pay

Qualifying leaseholders are protected from all the costs of fixing cladding systems.

Other historical safety defects can bring a contribution through the service charge. That contribution is capped and spread over 10 years. Money already paid since 28 June 2017 counts towards the cap. If the work costs more than the cap, the building owner makes up the difference.

Some leaseholders pay nothing towards historical defects at all. They include those whose flat was valued at less than £325,000 in Greater London, or £175,000 elsewhere in England, on 14 February 2022. GOV.UK has an online checker for leaseholders.

Who the protections cover

The leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force on 28 June 2022. They cover buildings above 11 metres or at least five storeys with historical safety defects.

A lease qualifies when it is a long lease, of more than 21 years, for a single flat in such a building. The leaseholder must pay a service charge, and the lease must have been granted before 14 February 2022. On that date, the flat had to be the leaseholder's only or main home, or they owned no more than 3 homes in the UK.

The protections pass to anyone who later buys the flat. They apply in England only.

The leaseholder deed of certificate

Landlords need information from each leaseholder to apply the protections. Leaseholders give it in a leaseholder deed of certificate. It is signed as a deed, with a witness who is not a family member.

A landlord who sends a formal notice must give at least 8 weeks to reply. The leaseholder can ask for 4 more weeks before the reply date. The landlord cannot charge for the notice or the certificate. When the flat is sold, the leaseholder passes these documents to the buyer.

Surveys, selling and remortgaging

The building owner must get a fire risk assessment. If it is unclear whether the outside walls are safe, the assessment includes a fire risk appraisal of the external walls. Professionals carry this out to a standard called PAS 9980:2022.

Some lenders ask for an EWS1 form. It gives a building owner a set way to show lenders and valuers that an expert has assessed the external walls. The form covers the whole building for five years. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says it is not a life safety certificate. GOV.UK says an EWS1 form is not a legal requirement for selling a flat.

Many large banks and building societies have agreed to lend on affected buildings. They do so where the work is being done by the developer or a government scheme, or where the leaseholder has completed a deed of certificate.

Buildings under 11 metres

GOV.UK says buildings under 11 metres are less likely to need costly fire safety work. If work is proposed, leaseholders can ask the building owner whether it rests on a PAS 9980:2022 appraisal of the external walls.