When government rules on charging leaseholders for building safety costs came into effect in June 2022, we put together this one-stop source of information so you can check how our policy applies the rules.


Government rules on charging leaseholders for building safety costs

To read the rules, please visit the government website.

A summary of our building safety (remediation) charging policy

Our charging policy sets out the rules, which types of properties and leaseholders are protected by them, and how we'll apply them.

We'll only ever charge residents for building safety works in line with the rules set by the government.


The types of buildings that apply

Our policy applies to buildings and properties that L&Q owns, whether freehold or leasehold.

It does not apply to buildings or properties we manage on someone else's behalf.

In those cases, the rules set by the government may apply differently and need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.


The types of work that apply

Our policy applies to any works needed to ensure that an existing building meets the new building safety standards set out by the government in the Building Safety Act 2022, often referred to as ‘remediation works’.

The Act describes the works covered as ‘relevant measures’ needed to address ‘relevant defects’, meaning a fault in the construction or works to a building over the last 30 years, which could cause a risk to the safety of people in or about the building because fire could spread or the building could collapse.


The types of leaseholders and homes protected by this policy

In line with the government’s rules, our policy protects leaseholders where their home meets one of the following conditions:

  • the owner lived in the property on 14 February 2022
  • the owner did not live in the property on 14 February 2022 because they could not sell it due to building safety issues and had to sublet
  • the owner of the property owned no more than two other homes in the UK on 14 February 2022

The rules are different if the person who owned the home on 14 February 2022 lived elsewhere and owned more than two other homes in the UK on that date. To find out if this applies to you, email our Fire Safety Engagement team.

Cases where leaseholders are protected from building safety costs

The rules state that leaseholders cannot be charged if their building is more than 11 metres or five storeys tall and:

  • the works are to remediate unsafe cladding
  • L&Q was involved in carrying out or commissioning any works which now need to be corrected
  • The value of the leaseholder’s property on 14 February 2022 was less than £375,000 in Greater London or £175,000 outside Greater London

In addition to the above, where the original developer has signed the government’s Building Safety Pledge which means that they have committed to remediate life-critical fire safety works in buildings over 11 metres.

You can view a list of developers who have signed the pledge on the government website.

We’ve already committed to not passing on costs for homes built through our in-house construction arm, Quadrant Construction.

This means that in most cases we will not charge leaseholders for works needed so that their building meets new building safety guidelines.

Please use the government's building safety cost checker to discover how these protections apply to you.

Cases where leaseholders may not be protected from building safety costs

There are some very limited circumstances when we may consider charging leaseholders for these types of work. These are:

Where a building is under 11 metres or less than five storeys tall. This is because the government views buildings of this height as low risk. This means that, in line with the guidance in the Building Safety Act, it is more likely that any safety issues discovered on inspection can be safely managed by installing less costly measures such as sprinklers or a different fire alarm system, rather than undertaking complicated remediation works.

Where the leaseholders are also the freeholders of the building (this happens when leaseholders have taken over the ownership of the freehold and management of their building), and L&Q is a leaseholder or the managing agent.

Where L&Q was not involved in carrying out or commissioning any works which now need to be corrected.

In these cases, charging will only ever be a last resort, and we’ll always seek to reclaim costs from the developer or other responsible parties before passing costs on.

Please use the government's building safety cost checker to find out how these exemptions may apply to you.

How we apply building safety charges

If we need to charge for building safety works, we'll apply the charging approach within the government rules.


For buildings under 11 metres and less than five storeys tall / Where the leaseholders are also the freeholders of the building

There are no rules regarding how remediation works can be recharged. However, we're committed to working with leaseholders in these circumstances to ensure that any costs are reasonable and manageable. We will do this by working with leaseholders on a case-by-case basis.

We'll also continue to seek funding from other sources where possible, including engaging with original developers and contractors. 


For buildings over 11 metres and more than five storeys tall where L&Q was not involved in carrying out or commissioning any works which now needs to be corrected


A) Charges for outright (100%) leaseholders

Leaseholders in these buildings qualify for charging caps and annual charging limits as set out in the government rules:

Type of property*

Charging cap

Annual charging limit

Property worth less than £1,000,000 outside London

£10,000

10% (up to £1,000)

Property worth less than £1,000,000 in London

£15,000

10% (up to £1,500)

Property worth less than £2,000,000

£50,000

10% (£5,000)

Property worth more than £2,000,000

£100,000

10% (£10,000)

Leaseholders owning more than three properties

No cap

No limit

*Based on value/status on 14 February 2022.


 B) Charges for shared owners

For shared owners, the cap on charges will be the same as for outright leaseholders but will be proportionate to their equity stake in the property.

The table below sets out some examples of how this will work:

Type of property*

Charging cap (100% ownership)

% of property owned

Charging cap (proportionate to % owned

Annual charging limit

Property worth less than £1,000,000 outside London

£10,000

25%

£2,500

10%

(up to £250)

50%

£5,000

10%

(up to £500)

75%

£7,500

10%

(up to £750)

Property worth less than £1,000,000 in London

£15,000

25%

£3,750

10%

(up to £375)

50%

£7,500

10%

(up to £750)

75%

£11,250

10%

(up to £1,125)

Property worth less than £2,000,000

£50,000

25%

£12,500

10%

(up to £1,250)

50%

£25,000

10%

(up to £2,500)

75%

£37,500

10%

(up to £3,750)

* Based on value/status on 14 February 2022.

 

The government rules also state that the charging cap must take into account any charges for building safety works or temporary fire safety measures already paid by the leaseholder.

For more information about this policy, please email our Fire Safety Engagement team.

For more information about our building safety programme, visit our Building and Fire Safety page.

Frequently asked questions about our building safety charging policy

  • What is the definition of buildings ‘Where L&Q was involved in carrying out or commissioning any works which now need to be corrected’?
    This covers any buildings for which we delivered or instructed any aspect of the initial construction or later structural works which need to be corrected to make sure a building meets new building safety guidelines.

    The definition includes buildings that were the responsibility of any organisation that became part of L&Q after the work that needed correcting took place.

    The definition does not include any homes where we acquired the home from another separate organisation and have not since carried out any works covered by our charging policy. Typically, this only applies to homes transferred to us by another building owner.
  • How do I confirm whether or not L&Q will cover any costs for my building?
    We’ll be writing to residents living in buildings covered by our inspection programme to confirm how the government’s rules on charging apply to you and your home.

    You can also use the government's building safety costs checker to learn how the rules apply to your home. 

    We will not be writing to residents who have already been informed that they are in an L&Q-built block, or have received notification that no inspection is required, as remediation costs will not be charged in these instances.
  • Why is the status of properties assessed as at 14 February 2022 and not at the time any charge needs to be made?
    This date has been set by the government and is specified in the law which building owners such as L&Q must follow when setting our charging policies. 
  • The government says landlords can’t charge at all if their net worth on 14 February 2022 was more than £2m per building over 11 meters they owned. Does this apply to L&Q?
    The government has agreed that this doesn’t apply to registered social housing providers as, in most cases, we are charitable, non-profit organisations. 
  • What is the government’s Building Safety Pledge and have L&Q signed it?
    In August 2022, 49 UK developers signed the Building Safety Pledge. In doing so, they committed to remediating high-rise homes in buildings of 11 metres or more in height that they had constructed as far back as 30 years ago. 
     
    By signing this pledge, these developers are unable to pass on remediation costs or secure government funding. This means that, where the developers constructed homes for L&Q, they cannot ask us or our residents to cover remediation costs. 
     
    We are not required to sign the pledge. However, we have already committed to remediating any homes we constructed through our in-house construction arm, without passing on costs to residents.