An interesting revision to the Building Safety Act 2022 (the “BSA”) which was included in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is on the horizon.

As it stands, paragraph 9 of Schedule 8 to the BSA excluded professional costs relating to relevant defects from being charged through the service charge. This inevitably hampered leaseholders in instructing solicitors and experts to assist them in seeking to enforce their rights and seek remediation contribution orders.

However, section 117 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (which comes into force on 24th July 2024) amends paragraph 9 to the extent that it creates an exception to the rule for costs incurred by a resident management company or an RTM company in relation to a remediation contribution order. This is likely to encourage and allow a great many leaseholders to seek redress under the BSA.

It should be noted that section 117 is not retrospective so costs incurred before 24th July 2024 will still not be recoverable through the service charge.

Should you require any further information and/or assistance in relation to the BSA or remediation contribution orders, you should contact Neil Curbison or Anjani Purohit on 020 7354 3000.