In England, the building owner or manager is usually responsible for arranging repairs to fire-safety defects in communal areas and the building structure. That may be a freeholder, management company, Right to Manage company, housing association or council—not necessarily the freeholder. Your lease determines which party must repair a particular element, while the Building Safety Act 2022 can restrict what qualifying leaseholders are charged for historical defects. Responsibility for making a building safe and responsibility for the eventual cost are separate questions.
Who is responsible for fixing fire-safety problems?
The starting point is the building owner or the organisation managing it. Government resident guidance for England says, “The building owner is usually responsible for fixing fire safety problems.” In practice, ask the owner or managing agent to identify the person responsible for fire safety, the defect being addressed, the proposed remedy and the timetable.
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The “building owner” can be a freeholder, a housing association, a local council, a management company or a Right to Manage (RTM) company. An owner may appoint an agent to arrange inspections or contractors, but appointing an agent does not automatically transfer the owner’s underlying legal role. The lease and the building’s ownership structure can give different parties repair duties for different parts of the property.
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This general rule concerns the work needed to make common parts and the structure safe. It does not by itself decide whether a service charge can recover the cost from leaseholders. First establish who must organise and complete the work; then analyse the separate cost rules.
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Which part of the building has the defect?
Common parts and the structure
Defects involving external walls, compartmentation, communal fire doors, stairways, corridors, roofs or other common parts normally begin with the owner or manager. Request the current fire-risk assessment, the defect or remediation report, any interim safety measures, the scope of work and the person coordinating it. Residents should be kept informed about identified hazards and planned work.
Parts covered by a lease repairing covenant
A lease may allocate repair and maintenance obligations between a freeholder, an intermediate or superior landlord, a head-leaseholder and a management company. Read the clauses covering repair, maintenance, common parts, external walls, fire precautions and service charges. A party that is not the freeholder may still be the landlord with the obligation to repair the item in question. The government’s remediation-order guidance expressly warns that “The relevant landlord will not always be the freeholder.”
Inside your flat
Official resident guidance describes the resident as responsible for fire safety inside their own home. That does not settle every question about a particular fire door, flat entrance door, alarm or compartmentation element: the lease and statutory protections may allocate responsibility differently. Residents should not alter fire doors, seals, vents or other safety features without checking the lease and the building’s instructions.
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Construction or refurbishment defects
If unsafe design, materials or workmanship arose during construction or refurbishment, identify the developer, builder and any landlord or company associated with them. The Building Safety Act 2022 and government guidance can place remediation or contribution obligations on responsible parties, subject to statutory tests. A developer’s public commitment to fund work may apply only to specified developers and buildings, so verify that the particular project is covered rather than assuming every defect qualifies.
How to identify the party with the repair duty
- Collect the documents. Obtain the lease, any head-lease information, the latest service-charge budget and accounts, fire-risk assessment, defect or intrusive-survey report, and correspondence about remediation.
- Map the ownership chain. Note the freeholder, intermediate landlords, RTM or residents’ management company, managing agent and any housing association or council. Check which entity is a party to your lease.
- Match the defect to the covenant. Find the clauses dealing with the affected element—for example, external walls, fire doors, common corridors, structure or fire precautions. Do not assume a general service-charge clause identifies the repairer.
- Ask for a written allocation. Request the owner or manager to state who is the responsible person for fire safety, who holds the repairing obligation and which contractor or consultant is leading the work.
- Check for superior leases. In a building with a head lease or several landlord relationships, duties may pass through the chain. More than one party can have obligations for different elements or stages of the work.
This process identifies who should act. It does not determine whether a leaseholder can be billed. That requires the historical-defect and leaseholder-protection analysis below.
Who pays for historical fire-safety defects?
The Building Safety Act 2022 created protections for leaseholders against the cost of defined historical building-safety defects. A relevant defect can include unsafe cladding, inadequate fire doors or missing compartmentation where the statutory conditions are met. These protections limit who may be charged; they do not remove the need for the responsible party to arrange and complete safety work.
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For a remediation order, the “relevant landlord” is the landlord under the lease who must repair or maintain something relating to the defect. It may be a management company or another lease party rather than the freeholder. A remediation contribution order can address payment or recover qualifying costs from a landlord or associated company.
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- Building: The relevant-building guidance covers a building in England that is self-contained, or a self-contained part, with at least two dwellings and at least 11 metres high or at least five storeys.
- Defect: The defect must create a risk to people from fire or structural collapse and arise from relevant work during 28 June 1992 to 27 June 2022, or from certain later work intended to remedy such a defect. The full statutory definitions control.
- Leaseholder: Whether the leaseholder qualifies depends on the property, the lease, ownership and other statutory facts. A non-qualifying lease can still receive protection in some circumstances where the building owner is, or is associated with, the responsible developer.
- Landlord or developer connection: Responsibility and the amount recoverable can change where the landlord is responsible for, or associated with, the developer, or meets the statutory contribution test.
The government FAQ says protections do not apply to buildings under 11 metres. Other guidance describes the relevant-building test as 11 metres or five storeys. Because height, storeys and the precise statutory definition interact, do not decide eligibility from a rough estimate; obtain the measured building facts and apply the current rules.
Cladding and non-cladding defects are treated differently
| Issue | How the cost rules generally operate | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Unsafe cladding | A qualifying leaseholder is protected from remediation costs. Protection can also extend to a non-qualifying lease where the building owner is, or is associated with, the responsible developer. | Whether the material is legally “cladding”, whether the defect is relevant, the leaseholder’s status and the developer relationship. |
| Non-cladding fire-safety defects | A qualifying leaseholder may be fully protected where the landlord is responsible for or associated with the developer, or where the landlord meets the statutory contribution condition. If those tests do not require the landlord to pay in full, a capped contribution may apply. | Landlord-group circumstances, lease value, prior payments, qualification and the current statutory wording. |
| Ordinary or new maintenance defect | Normal lease terms and applicable fire-safety duties generally govern. Historical-defect protections do not automatically apply. | When and how the defect arose, the lease covenants and any warranty or insurance route. |
Government guidance published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2024 describes a landlord-group wealth test of £2 million per relevant building. It also gives low-value lease thresholds based on the property’s value on 14 February 2022: £325,000 in Greater London and £175,000 elsewhere in England. These are statutory-scope figures, not a calculation of an individual bill.
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Government FAQ guidance ordinarily describes non-cladding contribution caps of £10,000, or £15,000 in Greater London, subject to circumstances including the value paid for the property. Treat those amounts as an indication of the rules rather than a personal calculation. Qualifying status, previous payments, lease value, landlord certificates, statutory amendments and the precise defect all matter.
What if the building is below the threshold?
Do not apply the 11-metre or five-storey framework to every block. The cited government FAQ says leaseholder protections do not apply to buildings under 11 metres, while separate guidance notes that lower-cost mitigations may be more proportionate. For a smaller building, examine the lease, any warranty or insurance, the ordinary fire-safety duties and other possible funding or enforcement routes. A lower building is not automatically free of fire risk, and the absence of statutory leaseholder protection does not decide who must carry out necessary work.
What should a leaseholder do when work is needed?
- Report the defect promptly. Write to the building owner and managing agent with the location, observed condition, dates, photographs and any immediate concern. Ask for confirmation that the issue has been logged.
- Ask for the safety evidence. Request the relevant fire-risk assessment, defect report, risk rating, interim measures, proposed remedy, appointed professional and target dates. Ask how residents will be protected while permanent work is pending.
- Request the responsible-party explanation. Ask which entity is responsible for fire safety and which lease clause gives it the repair obligation. If the response blames another organisation, request the contractual or ownership basis.
- Check cost paperwork. If historic remediation is being passed through a service charge, ask for the landlord certificate and the evidence required from leaseholders, and ask how the statutory protections have been applied. Do not assume that a service-charge clause overrides the Act.
- Keep a record. Save reports, notices, invoices, photographs, meeting notes and dates of every request. This creates a clear chronology if the matter needs formal escalation.
- Obtain tailored advice. The government directs leaseholders to the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) where an owner has been reminded of its duties but still fails to do required work. A solicitor or specialist building-safety adviser can assess the lease and statutory tests for a particular property.
What if the owner is not making the building safe?
For an assessed relevant defect that requires remediation but remains stalled, a leaseholder or another interested person can apply to the Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for a remediation order. The order can require specified relevant defects to be fixed by a deadline. A remediation contribution order can address payment or recover qualifying costs. Orders are enforceable, but the tribunal route is fact-specific: gather the defect evidence, ownership documents, lease, notices and cost records before applying, and take case-specific advice on the correct respondent and remedy.
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A tribunal application is not a substitute for urgent safety action. If there is an immediate danger, report it at once to the owner or manager and use the appropriate emergency route. Interim measures—such as restrictions, temporary protection or additional management controls—should be explained to residents while permanent work is arranged.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming “freeholder” means “repairer”. A management company, RTM company, superior landlord or another lease party may hold the relevant covenant.
- Confusing action with payment. The party that must arrange work is not automatically the party that ultimately bears every cost.
- Assuming every defect is historical. The statutory period, the risk created and the type of work must all fit the definition.
- Treating cladding and non-cladding identically. The protections and possible contribution caps differ.
- Assuming a cap without checking the file. The £10,000 and £15,000 figures are not an automatic invoice limit for every leaseholder.
- Withholding a payment without advice. Do not stop paying a service charge or other sum until the lease, notices and statutory protections have been reviewed for your case.
- Relying on an old funding announcement. Scheme availability changes; verify any current route rather than relying on an outdated page.
A practical decision framework
Use four questions in order. First, what is unsafe: a common part, structure, external wall, fire door or something inside the flat? Second, who has the lease obligation for that element? Third, is the defect a relevant historical defect in a relevant building, and does the leaseholder qualify for statutory protection? Fourth, is the landlord, developer or an associated company responsible for the cost, or does a capped contribution rule apply? Written answers to those questions usually reveal both the party that must act and the evidence needed to challenge an incorrect charge.
For England, the safest conclusion is therefore precise rather than absolute: start with the building owner or manager for immediate fire-safety action, read the lease to identify the actual repair-duty holder, and apply the Building Safety Act protections separately before accepting any historic remediation charge.
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