Statutory Lease Extensions and the Building Safety Act 2022

Ian Mitchell, Partner Leasehold Services | June 28, 2023

As the law currently stands, leases granted after 14 February 2022, including statutory lease extensions (as they necessarily take effect as a surrender and re-grant), are not “qualifying leases” for the purposes of sections 122 to 125 and Schedule 8 of the Building Safety Act 2022 Act.

A lease granted after 14 February 2022 will not have the benefit of the leaseholder protections in Schedule 8 to the 2022 Act with the possible exception of the benefit of the restriction in paragraph 2 of Schedule 8 (No service charge payable for remedying a defect if the landlord or an associate of the landlord was responsible for the defect), which protection may also apply to non-qualifying leases.

The Government has stated that it proposes to resolve the problem for 1993 Act lease extensions as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The government’s guidance dated 21 April 2023 – goes on to say that “in the meantime, before seeking a new extended or varied lease, leaseholders should seek legal advice and seek to come to agreements with landlords to apply the same protections as contractual terms“.

We have in conjunction with Counsel drafted lease provisions that aim to apply the same protections for our clients on a contractual basis.

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