Building Safety Act: Leaseholder and Landlord Obligations

If you are in a tall block (18m+ or 7+ storeys) you are in a completely different regulatory world now: the Building Safety Regulator, safety cases, resident engagement and leaseholder protections all sit on top of the usual fire/EWS1 headaches.

"This guide provides general information about UK landlord tax obligations. It is not financial or legal advice. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change. Consider consulting a qualified accountant or solicitor for advice specific to your situation."

1. Does the Building Safety Act apply to your building?

"Higher-risk building" (HRB) in occupation phase (England):

• At least 18 metres in height, or
• At least 7 storeys,
• And contains at least 2 residential units.

Some specialist buildings are excluded, but for most blocks of flats this is the test. If your block meets it and is in England, it must:

• Be registered with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR).
• Have one or more Accountable Persons (APs) and a Principal Accountable Person (PAP).
• Comply with the HRB safety management regime.

If you just own a BTL flat in the block, you are not the AP for the common parts, but you are affected by the building-level duties and cost recovery.

2. BSR, Accountable Person, Principal AP: who actually carries the can?

Building Safety Regulator (BSR)

• New regulator within the HSE, overseeing building safety across design, construction and occupation for HRBs.
• Maintains the HRB register, issues Building Assessment Certificates, and enforces the regime.

Accountable Person (AP)

• Defined in s72 Building Safety Act 2022.
• Any person or entity legally responsible for the repair/maintenance of a common part of the building.
• Often the freeholder, head-lessee, RTM company, or RMC.

Principal Accountable Person (PAP)

The AP who is responsible for the structure and exterior of the building (or the one designated as PAP where there are several APs).

PAP has overarching duties to:

• Register the building.
• Prepare and maintain the building safety case and safety case report.
• Establish mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR).
• Prepare and implement a resident engagement strategy and complaints system.
• Maintain the golden thread of building information (digital record of safety-critical info).

If you are the freeholder or head-lessee responsible for structure/exterior, you are likely the PAP, with direct legal duties.

3. Safety case, key building information, MOR, and resident engagement

Key building information (KBI)

Under the Higher-Risk Buildings (Key Building Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2023, the PAP must submit "key building information" to the BSR for each HRB.

KBI includes:

• Height, storey count, number and type of residential units.
• Structural system and materials (eg concrete frame, cladding types).
• Fire safety systems (detection, alarms, suppression).
• Energy/storage systems.
• Which parts of the building each AP is responsible for.

Safety case and safety case report

• The safety case is the body of evidence showing you have identified, assessed and controlled building safety risks (fire and structural) "so far as reasonably practicable".
• The safety case report summarises:
• Main fire and structural risks.
• Control measures (design features, management, maintenance).
• How you monitor and review risks.
• Links to key documents (fire strategy, FRA, intrusive surveys, structural reports).

Mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR)

PAP must operate a system so that safety occurrences are:

• Identified and captured.
• Reported to the BSR within required timescales.
• MOR covers defined triggers such as serious fire safety system failures, structural concerns, and certain resident-reported events.

Resident engagement strategy

PAP must have a resident engagement strategy for the HRB that:

• Explains how residents are involved in building safety decisions.
• Sets out how you share information (eg fire strategy summaries, works plans).
• Describes consultation methods and how feedback is used.
• Is reviewed, updated and made available to residents and APs.

If you are a flat-owning landlord, your role is usually as a leaseholder:

• You will be on the receiving end of resident engagement, safety communications and MOR-related notifications.
• You may be invited or elected onto resident panels/RMC boards that help shape the safety approach.

4. Building safety charges, leaseholder protections and what this means for landlords

Building safety charge

• The Act originally created a separate "building safety charge", but subsequent amendments and guidance shift towards costs being managed through the service charge mechanism, with additional rules and transparency.
• PAP/AP can recover certain ongoing building safety costs from leaseholders if the lease allows, including:
• Safety case preparation.
• FRA / structural inspections.
• Safety system maintenance and upgrades.

Leaseholder protections (historical defects)

For buildings in scope, the Act limits historical remediation costs (cladding and certain non-cladding safety defects) that can be passed to qualifying leaseholders:

• Qualifying leaseholders (broadly, owner-occupiers and small landlords within value thresholds) pay nothing for cladding remediation.
• Non-cladding remediation and interim safety costs are capped or limited, depending on the landlord's wealth (the "contribution condition").

Landlord's certificate

• The relevant landlord must provide a landlord's certificate explaining whether they are associated with the original developer and whether they meet the "contribution condition".

Leaseholder Deed of Certificate

• Leaseholders may complete a Deed of Certificate to show they qualify for protections (eg number of properties they own, value thresholds).

For you as a BTL leaseholder in a HRB

• You will see service charges rising to cover new safety regime costs (safety case, engagement, inspections).
• You may be protected from some historical remediation costs if you qualify, but large portfolio landlords can be excluded and may shoulder more.
• You still face practical issues: lender views on cladding, EWS1 requirements, and buyer appetite.

If you own the freehold or are the "relevant landlord"

• You carry the legal duty to fund certain historical defect remediation if you meet the contribution condition or are associated with the developer.
• Passing costs to leaseholders is heavily restricted and scrutinised.

Interaction with cladding and EWS1

• The Building Safety Act regime runs alongside the cladding remediation programmes and lender-driven EWS1 forms.
• Even with an EWS1 in place, HRBs must still comply with BSA safety case, MOR and resident engagement duties.
• Conversely, the work you do for safety cases, intrusive surveys and fire strategies feeds into what valuers and lenders want to see.

5. What forums get wrong, and what you should focus on

Typical forum misunderstandings

"It only affects the developer / managing agent, not me as a landlord." The duties on safety cases, engagement and MOR sit with APs/PAPs, but costs and practical impacts land squarely in your service charge and your ability to let, finance and sell.

"18 metres is just a cladding thing, I can ignore BSA once cladding is done." The BSA creates a permanent safety management regime for HRBs, not a one-off cladding fix. You will be paying for and living with this as long as you own in a tall block.

"Leaseholder protections mean I will never pay." Protections are targeted at qualifying leaseholders and capped for some defects. Large landlords and non-qualifying leases can still be on the hook for significant sums.

"If the PAP is slow on safety case, it is their problem." If the building is non-compliant, the BSR can take enforcement action, and the market (lenders/buyers) can mark down or refuse to lend, which hits the value and liquidity of your flat.

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