Fire Safety Bill — After Clause 2 — Prohibition on Passing Remediation Costs on to Leaseholders and Tenants — 24 Feb 2021 at 17:36

The majority of MPs voted to allow the owners of buildings containing two or more sets of domestic premises to pass on the costs of legally required fire safety improvements to leaseholders and tenants.

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

The purpose of the Bill was "to clarify that the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the Fire Safety Order) applies to external walls (including cladding, balconies and windows) and individual flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings. The 2005 order consolidated fire safety legislation. The Bill also provided powers for ministers to change the definition of premises to which the order applies.^[2]

The motion supported by a majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 4

Lords amendment 4^[3] stated:

• Insert the following new Clause—
• “Prohibition on passing remediation costs on to leaseholders and tenants
• (1) The owner of a building may not pass the costs of any remedial work attributable to the provisions of this Act on to leaseholders or tenants of that building.
• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a leaseholder who is also the owner or part owner of the freehold of the building.”

The Bill clarified the applicability of the Fire Safety Order so this provision would make more sense in the Order rather than the Bill.

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Fire Safety Bill, Parliament.uk
• [2] Explanatory notes to the Fire Safety Bill, Parliament.uk
• [3] Lords amendments to the Fire Safety Bill, 24 November 2020, Parliament.uk

Debate in Parliament |