Charging for remediation work
L&Q Building Safety (Remediation) Charging Policy
September 2022
On 28 June 2022, the new government rules on charging leaseholders for building safety costs came into effect.
Our charging policy sets out what the new rules are, what types of properties and leaseholders are protected by them, and how we'll apply the rules. The policy is summarised below.
We'll only ever charge residents for building safety works in line with the rules set by the Government.
What buildings does this policy apply to?
This policy explains how the rules apply to buildings and properties that L&Q own, whether freehold or leasehold.
It does not apply to buildings or properties that L&Q manage on behalf of someone else. In those cases the rules set by Government may apply differently and they would need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
- What types of work does this policy apply to?This policy applies to any works needed to ensure that an existing building meets the new building safety standards set out by 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. - What types of leaseholders and homes are protected by this policy?
In line with the Government’s rules, this policy protects leaseholders where their home meets one of the following conditions:
- The owner lived in the property on 14 February 2022; or
- The owner did not live in the property on 14 February 2022 because they could not sell it owing 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 both lived elsewhere and owned more than two other homes in the UK on that date. If this applies to you please contact firesafetyengagement@lqgroup.org.uk for more information.
- Cases where leaseholders are protected from costs
The rules state that leaseholders cannot be charged if their building is either over 11 metres or more than five storeys tall and:
- The works are to remediate unsafe cladding; or
- L&Q was involved in carrying out or commissioning any works which now need to be corrected; or
- 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 this 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 Government’s pledge on gov.uk.
L&Q have already committed to not passing on costs for homes built through our in-house construction arm, Quadrant Construction.
This means that in the large majority of 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 find out how these protections apply to you. - Cases where leaseholders may not be protected from costs
There are some very limited circumstances in which L&Q may consider charging leaseholders for these types of work. These are:
- Where a building is both under 11 metres or less than five storeys tall (this is because buildings of this height are viewed by Government 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 freeholder 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 will 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 charges will be applied
Should we need to charge for building safety works, we'll apply the charging approach set out in the government rules.
For buildings under 11 metres and less than five storeys tall / Where the leaseholders are also the freeholder 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 |
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) |
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.
* Based on value/status on 14 February 2022.
For more information about this policy, please email us at firesafetyengagement@lqgroup.org.uk.
For more information about our building safety programme, visit ourBuilding and Fire Safety page.
Other frequently asked questions
- 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 which L&Q either delivered or instructed any aspect of the initial construction, or later structural works which now need to be corrected to make sure a building meets new building safety guidelines.
The definition includes buildings which were the responsibility of any organisation that became part of L&Q after the work that needs correcting took place.
The definition does not include any homes where L&Q acquired the homes from another separate organisation, and has not since carried out any works covered by our charging policy. Typically this only applies to homes which were transferred to L&Q by another building owner. - How do I confirm whether or not L&Q will cover any costs for my building?L&Q will be writing to residents whose buildings 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 find out 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 who 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 Government and is specified in the law which building owners such as L&Q must follow when setting our charging policies.
- The Government says that landlords can’t charge at all if their net worth on 14 February 2022 was more than £2m per building over 11 meters that they owned. Does this apply to L&Q?The Government has agreed that this doesn’t apply to registered providers of social housing 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, the 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.
L&Q 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.
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