Fire Safety Bill — After Clause 2 — Prohibition on Passing Remediation Costs on to Leaseholders and Tenants — 22 Mar 2021 at 21:02

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 the Lords in their amendments 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E.

The amendments 4[3] stated:

4B

  • After Clause 2, 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.”

4C

  • After Clause 2, insert the following new Clause—
  • Costs arising from relevant notices or risk based guidance under the Fire Safety Order
  • (1) This section applies to a long lease of a dwelling in a relevant building.
  • (2) This section applies—

(a) where a notice has been served by an enforcing authority under article 28, article 29 or article 30 of the Fire Safety Order; or

  • (b) where a responsible person carries out works on the basis that they are required or said to be required by the risk based guidance issued by the Secretary of State under article 50 of the Fire Safety Order.
  • (3) In the lease there is an implied covenant by the lessor, or any third party to the lease, that the lessor or third party shall not recover from the lessee any amount in respect of the costs of works under subsection (2) where the works are to remedy any defect, risk or issue that predated the first grant of a long lease of the dwelling.
  • (4) Subsection (3) does not apply where the works are to repair a deterioration in original condition.
  • (5) Subsection (3) does not apply to any interest or shareholding the lessee may have in any superior lessor or freeholder.
  • (6) This section does not apply to commonhold land.
  • (7) “Dwelling” has the meaning given by section 112 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 and “long lease” has the meaning given by sections 76 and 77 of that Act, save that, in the case of a shared ownership lease, it is irrelevant whether or not the tenant’s total share is 100%.

4D

  • After Clause 2, insert the following new Clause—
  • Restriction on contracting out of section (Costs arising from relevant notices or risk based guidance under the Fire Safety Order)
  • A covenant or agreement, whether contained in a long lease to which section (Costs arising from relevant notices or risk based guidance under the Fire Safety Order) applies or in an agreement collateral to such a long lease, is

void in so far as it purports—

  • (a) to exclude or limit the obligations of the lessor or the immunities of the lessee under that section, or
  • (b) to authorise any forfeiture or impose on the lessee any penalty, disability or obligation in the event of the lessee enforcing or relying upon those obligations or immunities.”

4E

  • Clause 3, page 2, line 28, at end insert—
  • “( ) Sections (Costs arising from relevant notices or risk based guidance under the Fire Safety Order) and (Restriction on contracting out of section (Costs arising from relevant notices or risk based guidance under the Fire Safety Order)) shall each come into force on the same day as section 1 comes fully or partially into force in respect of any premises in England.”

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Debate in Parliament |

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Party Summary

Votes by party, red entries are votes against the majority for that party.

What is Tell? '+1 tell' means that in addition one member of that party was a teller for that division lobby.

What are Boths? An MP can vote both aye and no in the same division. The boths page explains this.

What is Turnout? This is measured against the total membership of the party at the time of the vote.

PartyMajority (Aye)Minority (No)BothTurnout
Alliance0 10100.0%
Con320 (+2 tell) 33097.3%
DUP0 7087.5%
Green0 10100.0%
Independent0 40100.0%
Lab0 195 (+2 tell)099.0%
LDem0 110100.0%
PC0 30100.0%
SDLP0 20100.0%
Total:320 257097.8%

Rebel Voters - sorted by constituency

MPs for which their vote in this division differed from the majority vote of their party. You can see all votes in this division, or every eligible MP who could have voted in this division

Sort by: Name | Constituency | Party | Vote

NameConstituencyPartyVote
Damian GreenAshfordCon (front bench)no
John BaronBasildon and BillericayConno
Chris GreenBolton WestConno
Bob NeillBromley and ChislehurstCon (front bench)no
Elliot ColburnCarshalton and WallingtonCon (front bench)no
Mary RobinsonCheadleCon (front bench)no
Dame Cheryl GillanChesham and AmershamCon (front bench)no
Christopher ChopeChristchurchCon (front bench)no
Jason McCartneyColne ValleyConno
Caroline AnsellEastbourneConno
Rehman ChishtiGillingham and RainhamConno
David DavisHaltemprice and HowdenConno
Bob BlackmanHarrow EastCon (front bench)no
William WraggHazel GroveCon (front bench)no
Matthew OffordHendonCon (front bench)no
Tom HuntIpswichCon (front bench)no
Philip HolloboneKetteringCon (front bench)no
Pauline LathamMid DerbyshireCon (front bench)no
Julian LewisNew Forest Eastwhilst Con (front bench)no
Anne Marie MorrisNewton AbbotCon (front bench)no
Roger GaleNorth ThanetCon (front bench)no
Andrew RosindellRomfordCon (front bench)no
Caroline NokesRomsey and Southampton NorthCon (front bench)no
Philip DaviesShipleyCon (front bench)no
David WarburtonSomerton and FromeConno
Royston SmithSouthampton, ItchenCon (front bench)no
Sir David AmessSouthend WestCon (front bench)no
Stephen McPartlandStevenageCon (front bench)no
Esther McVeyTattonCon (front bench)no
Thomas TugendhatTonbridge and MallingCon (front bench)no
Peter BoneWellingboroughwhilst Con (front bench)no
Stephen HammondWimbledonConno
Peter BottomleyWorthing WestCon (front bench)no

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