Liability for building safety costs: LTA 1985 s. 30D
Requires that building safety measures for higher-risk buildings be included in service charges, with costs apportioned like insurance costs.
This section applies to a relevant lease of premises which consist of or include a dwelling in a higher-risk building. In this section “relevant lease”— means a lease— that is granted for a term certain of 7 years or more, whether or not it is (or may become) terminable before the end of that term by notice given by the tenant or by re-entry or forfeiture, and under which the tenant is liable to pay a service charge (within the meaning of section 18), but does not include a relevant social housing tenancy. The relevant lease has effect— as if the matters for which the service charge is payable under the lease included the taking of building safety measures by or on behalf of a relevant person (insofar as this would not otherwise be the case), and where the lease contains different methods for apportioning different relevant costs (within the meaning of section 18), as if it provided for any costs for which the tenant is liable by virtue only of paragraph (a) to be apportioned in the same way as costs incurred in connection with insuring the building. “ Building safety measure ” means any of the following— applying for registration of a higher-risk building in accordance with section 78 of the Building Safety Act 2022; applying for a building assessment certificate in accordance with section 79 of that Act; displaying a building assessment certificate in accordance with section 82 of that Act; assessing building safety risks in accordance with section 83 of that Act; taking reasonable steps in accordance with section 84 of that Act (management of building safety risks), other than steps involving the carrying out of works as referred to in section 84 (2) ; preparing and revising a safety case report in accordance with section 85 of that Act; notifying the regulator of a safety case report, and giving a copy of a safety case report to the regulator, in accordance with section 86 of that Act; establishing and operating a mandatory occurrence reporting system, and giving information to the regulator, in accordance with section 87 of that Act; keeping information and documents in accordance with section 88 of that Act; giving information and documents to any person in accordance with section 89, 90 or 92 of that Act; complying with any duty under section 91 of that Act (residents’ engagement strategy); establishing and operating a system for the investigation of complaints in accordance with section 93 of that Act; giving a contravention notice to a resident, and making an application to the county court, in accordance with section 96 of that Act; making a request to enter premises, or making an application to the county court, in accordance with section 97 of that Act (access to premises). For the purposes of this section any of the following incurred in connection with the taking of a building safety measure are to be regarded as incurred in taking the measure— legal and other professional fees; fees payable to the regulator; management costs. In this section— “ landlord ” includes any person who has a right under the lease to enforce payment of a service charge (within the meaning of section 18); “ relevant person ” means— if the landlord is an accountable person for the building, the landlord or a special measures manager for the building; otherwise, any superior landlord who is an accountable person for the building or a special measures manager for the building; “ relevant social housing tenancy ” has the meaning given in section 132 of the Land Registration Act 2002; “ tenant ” includes any person who has an obligation under the lease to pay a service charge (within the meaning of section 18). The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument amend subsection (4) so as to add, remove or modify a building safety measure. The regulations may make incidental, transitional or saving provision. A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (7) may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
Text in force at .
Source: legislation.gov.uk — The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), reproduced under licence Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it actually says
This section applies to residential leases of flats in higher-risk buildings (as defined under the Building Safety Act) that are granted for 7 years or more and where the tenant pays a service charge. It does not apply to social housing tenancies.
The lease is treated as if it already includes building safety measures as part of the service charge, even if the lease does not mention them. These measures include specific steps like applying for building registration, assessing risks, preparing safety reports, and others listed in the Act. Any costs such as legal fees, regulator fees, and management costs incurred for these measures are also covered.
If the lease uses different ways to split costs for different items, the costs for building safety measures must be split in the same way as insurance costs. The government can change the list of measures by regulations approved by Parliament.
When it applies
- A landlord registers a higher-risk building and passes the fee to the tenant via service charge.
- A building safety risk assessment is carried out, and the cost is demanded from the tenant.
- A safety case report is prepared by the landlord, and the tenant disputes the charge.
- A tenant refuses to pay for a building assessment certificate application, claiming it's not in the lease.
- The landlord incurs legal fees for a contravention notice against a resident and includes them in the service charge.
What this section does not say
- This section does not cover costs of actual repair works for building safety (only the measures listed, not works under s.84(2) of the Building Safety Act 2022).
- It does not apply to leases of less than 7 years.
- It does not apply to social housing tenancies.
- It does not cover service charges for non-building-safety matters (like general maintenance).
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This page reproduces the text of LTA 1985 s. 30D in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.