Leasehold Management Landlords

When landlords in buildings are approached for disposals, they’re often asked for a management pack and to address alienation provisions like Deeds of Covenant or Licences to Assign (Alienation Deed). This allows for the disposal of leasehold flats to buyers.

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) introduced a more complex management pack that includes:

• Form LPE1 — this covers general questions about the leasehold nature of a flat.
• Landlord’s certificate — for ‘relevant buildings’.
• Leaseholder’s certificate — to be completed and returned if the owner needs BSA 2022 protections for cladding and other service charge liabilities.

The pack also includes documents like:

• Three years’ accounts.
• Service charge budget.
• Memo and Articles of Association.
• AGM minutes.
• Insurance policy.

Title registers often have restrictions that require certificates for registration. These are typically included in the Alienation Deed. The landlord’s executed part of the deed serves as a certificate for the buyer to present to HM Land Registry.

Part of the process involves obtaining statements of arrears from landlords and ensuring payment (ground rent and service charges) upon completion from the outgoing tenant. 

This process is time-consuming and often includes additional enquiries raised by buyers as part of their due diligence. We handle this for you, removing a common source of delay and protecting your position.

Some leases require buyers to request shares in the management company or landlord company. While landlords may handle this themselves to save costs, we offer services to manage share certificates and maintain a share register.

Yes, landlords must provide a landlord’s certificate for all ‘relevant buildings’ under the Building Safety Act 2022 to pass remediation costs to leaseholders through service charges.

You should complete and serve the form to ensure that the apartment is recorded as qualifying.

A leaseholder’s certificate determines whether the leaseholder is considered to ‘qualify’ under the Building Safety Act 2022. 

This isn't limited to situations where a leaseholder has already sent in their own certificate. The obligation can arise as soon as the landlord becomes aware that a flat is being sold or when a new relevant defect comes to light. 

No. A new Landlord’s Certificate is only required within four weeks if the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate contains information that wasn't included in a previous Landlord’s Certificate.

If the information is already covered by an earlier certificate, a fresh one isn't required solely because a new Leaseholder Deed of Certificate has been received.

There's no fixed expiry date for a Landlord's Certificate. Instead, the obligation to provide one is triggered by specific events, including notification that a leasehold interest is to be sold.

If your building exceeds five storeys or 11m in height, it’s classed as a relevant building’ under the Building Safety Act 2022. This means that you must comply with the Act.

The building safety regime applies to all buildings but has a special focus on 'higher-risk buildings' (HRBs). 

Broadly speaking, HRBs are defined under s.65 and s.120D of the Building Safety Act 2022 as buildings in England that are at least 18m (or seven storeys) high and contain at least two residential units. However, the exact definition and exclusions depend on the building's phase.

During the design and build phase, exclusions (Reg 7, Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023) include secure residential institutions, hotels and military premises, while care homes and hospitals which meet the height/storey criteria and which contain at least two residential units are caught by the definition of HRBs. 

During the occupation phase, exclusions (Reg 8, Higher-Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023) include secure residential institutions, care homes, hospitals, hotels and military premises, regardless of the number of residential units.

For height measurement details and specific criteria/exclusions per phase, refer to the Regulations and the Guidance.

Following the Grenfell disaster, the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) was introduced to improve the fire and structural safety of all buildings in the UK — especially those deemed to be higher-risk buildings (those at least 18m in height or with at least seven storeys and containing at least two residential units, with certain exceptions) (HRBs). 

The Act imposes responsibilities on landlords to ensure safety and record unsafe buildings and remediation.