Changes to Leaseholder and Landlord Certificate Process

Amendments to the regulations governing leaseholder protections under the Building Safety Act 2022 came into force this year.  

The Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections etc) (England) (Amendments) Regulations 2023 were published on the 5th of August. The amendments include changes to the Leaseholder and Landlord Certificate process.  

To pass on any historical safety remediation costs to leaseholders, or to demonstrate to leaseholders why costs cannot be passed on, building owners must complete a Landlord Certificate. Failure to comply can have huge financial repercussions, with the potential for freeholders and/or leaseholders to have full liability for the financial cost of any measures required to rectify relevant defects.  

The main changes in this latest legislation are:  

• New Trigger – A Landlord Certificate must be provided within four weeks of becoming aware of a new leaseholder deed of certificate that contains information not included in a previous Landlord Certificate. 
• New Deadline – Within one week of receiving a Leaseholder Certificate, the current landlord must provide a copy to any Resident Management Company, Right to Manage Company or named manager, for the building to which the certificate relates. 

• New Landlord Certificate – The existing certificate is replaced with a simplified version with revised provisions regarding supporting evidence.  

Innovus Asset Management Associate Director Martin Nicoll says: “We welcome the changes and simplification of the Landlord Certificate process but believe they could have gone further. This remains an extremely complex process for landlords – particularly those with large portfolios with significant implications should the correct processes not be followed.  

“At Innovus, we help landlords to navigate the complexities involved with this ever-changing legislation. We were the first asset manager to provide certificates on a large scale and to date, have supplied over 700 Landlord Certificates to ensure our clients meet the Act’s full obligations.”