Building Safety Bill — New Clause 3 — Remediation Costs and Building Works Agency — 19 Jan 2022 at 16:00

The majority of MPs voted to allow landlords to pass on the costs of certain fire safety works to leaseholders, and not to create the Building Works Agency which would have been charged with administering a programme of cladding remediation and other building safety works.

MPs were considering the Building Safety Bill.^[1][2][3]

The proposed new clause rejected in this vote was titled: Remediation costs and Building Works Agency and began:

• (1) The remediation costs condition applies where a landlord has carried out any fire safety works to an applicable building in consequence of any provision, duty or guidance arising from—
• (a) the Housing Act 2004;
• (b) the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005;
• (c) the Building Safety Act 2021;
• (d) any direction, recommendation or suggestion of any public authority or regulatory body;
• (e) such other circumstances or enactment as the Secretary of State may prescribe by regulations or in accordance with subsection (9), below.
• (2) If the remediation costs condition is met, then the costs incurred by the landlord in connection with those matters may not be the subject of a demand for payment of service charges, administration charges or any other charge permitted or authorised by any provision of any long lease.
• (3) Any demand for payment which contravenes this section shall be of no force or effect and will have no validity in law
• ...
• (7) Within six months of the day on which this section comes into force, the Secretary of State must create an agency referred to as the Building Works Agency.
• (8) The purpose of the Building Works Agency shall be to administer a programme of cladding remediation and other building safety works, including....

The clause continued with details, definitions, and a provision ensuring it would come into force when the Bill became an Act.

It appears subclause (1) defines the "remediation costs condition" and the consequence of the condition being met is set out in subclause (2).

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Building Safety Bill, Parliament.uk
• [2] Building Safety Bill, as amended in Committee, 27 October 2021, Parliament.uk
• [3] Explanatory notes to the Building Safety Bill, 5 July 2021, Parliament.uk
• [4] Amendment paper for consideration of the Building Safety Bill on 19 January 2022, Parliament.uk

Debate in Parliament |