Building safety and cladding: who pays and your protections

Last reviewed 16 June 2026 · Written by Max van der Heiden

If you own a flat in a building with cladding or fire safety problems, the Building Safety Act 2022 is designed to protect you from the worst of the costs. Qualifying leaseholders pay nothing towards fixing unsafe cladding, and there are caps on what they can be charged for other safety defects. Whether you are protected, and how much, depends on your building and your lease.

This is one of the most complicated areas in all of leasehold, and even professionals find it hard to pin down individual cases. This guide explains the framework in plain English so you understand the questions that matter, but for your own situation specialist advice is essential.

Where the problem came from

After the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, checks across the country found that many blocks of flats had unsafe cladding or other fire safety defects built into them. Leaseholders, who under their leases are usually responsible for the cost of repairs through the service charge, suddenly faced enormous remediation bills for problems they had not caused. The Building Safety Act 2022 was the government’s response, shifting much of that cost away from leaseholders and onto developers, building owners and public funding.

The Building Safety Act and who pays

The Act’s leaseholder protections apply to what it calls relevant buildings, broadly residential buildings at least 11 metres tall or with at least five storeys, containing at least two flats. Where they apply, the cost of fixing serious safety defects is meant to fall on those responsible rather than on leaseholders. Most major developers have also signed contracts agreeing to fix life-critical fire safety defects in buildings they were involved in, and there is government funding for certain cladding work.

How much protection you personally get turns on one key question: whether your lease is a qualifying lease. That is the concept everything else hangs on, so it is worth understanding.

What is a qualifying lease?

The test looks at your situation on 14 February 2022, the date the law fixes on. Your lease is a qualifying lease if, on that date, it was a long lease granted for more than 21 years, you paid a service charge under it, the building was a relevant building, and the flat was your only or main home, or you owned no more than three dwellings in the UK in total.

The reason this matters is that qualifying leaseholders get the full set of protections, including the caps described below, while leaseholders who do not qualify get less protection for non-cladding work. Working out qualifying status can be surprisingly difficult in practice, which is part of why this area causes so much anxiety, and why advice is worth getting.

Cladding costs versus other safety defects

The Act treats unsafe cladding differently from other defects. For the removal or replacement of unsafe cladding, qualifying leaseholders cannot be charged anything at all, regardless of the other tests. In practice, even leaseholders who do not meet the qualifying test should not be billed for cladding work, because that cost is expected to be met by the developer or through government schemes.

For non-cladding safety defects, such as missing fire breaks or defective compartmentation, the Act sets out an order of tests, sometimes called a waterfall, to decide who pays. If the building owner was, or was linked to, the developer, they pay. If the building owner’s group was wealthy above a set threshold, they pay. Only if those do not apply can any cost reach qualifying leaseholders, and even then it is capped.

The caps for qualifying leaseholders

Where a non-cladding cost does reach a qualifying leaseholder, the amount is capped. The cap is £15,000 in Greater London and £10,000 elsewhere, and for higher-value flats worth between £1 million and £2 million it is £50,000. These caps cover the total a qualifying leaseholder can be asked to pay for relevant safety works, and the amount is spread over ten years rather than demanded in one go. Leaseholders who do not qualify do not get this statutory cap for non-cladding work, which is one of the reasons qualifying status matters so much.

What is an EWS1 form?

The EWS1, or External Wall System form, is a certificate confirming that a building’s external walls have been assessed for fire safety by a suitable professional. It was introduced for the benefit of mortgage lenders, who often want to see one before lending on a flat in a taller building. It is not the same thing as the Building Safety Act protections, and it does not by itself decide who pays for any works. It is really about whether a lender will lend and a sale can proceed. The guidance around EWS1 continues to evolve, so if a sale or remortgage depends on it, check the current position at the time.

How to find out where you stand

Start with the basics about your building: how tall it is, how many storeys, and whether any safety defects have been identified. Ask the building owner or managing agent for the landlord’s certificate, which sets out whether the owner meets the developer or wealth tests, and gather what you need to show your own qualifying status. Because the rules are intricate and the documents are not always easy to interpret, this is a point where a solicitor or a specialist adviser earns their fee. Do not simply pay a large bill for safety works without first checking whether the protections mean you should not be paying it.

Frequently asked questions

Do these protections apply to every block of flats?

No. They are aimed at relevant buildings, broadly those at least 11 metres tall or with at least five storeys. There is separate, more limited guidance for shorter buildings, and for buildings where the leaseholders own the freehold. If your building is lower than that threshold, take advice on your specific position.

I rent my flat out. Am I still protected?

It depends. The qualifying lease test looks at whether, on 14 February 2022, the flat was your main home or you owned no more than three UK dwellings. If you owned several properties, you may not be a qualifying leaseholder, which reduces your protection for non-cladding work. This is exactly the kind of case where advice is important.

Can I be charged for cladding removal?

A qualifying leaseholder cannot be charged for fixing unsafe cladding. In practice cladding costs are expected to be met by developers or government funding rather than leaseholders generally. If you receive a service charge demand for cladding work, do not pay it without checking your position first.

Does this affect selling my flat?

It can. Buyers and lenders care about safety status, certificates and who is liable for any works, which is covered in our guide on buying and selling a leasehold flat. Getting the paperwork in order early makes a sale far smoother.

What to do next

If you are facing a safety-related bill, do not pay it before checking whether the Building Safety Act protections apply to you. Establish your building’s height and storeys, work out whether your lease is likely to be a qualifying lease, and ask the building owner for the landlord’s certificate. Then get advice from a solicitor or specialist before agreeing to anything, because the sums involved are large and the rules are not ones to navigate alone. For how this interacts with a purchase or sale, see buying and selling a leasehold flat.

This guide provides general information about building safety and cladding for leaseholders in England. It is not legal advice. This is a complex and evolving area, and individual cases turn on detail, so specialist advice is strongly recommended before acting or paying any bill. For advice on your own situation, consult a solicitor experienced in building safety, or a specialist such as the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE). Sources: Building Safety Act 2022 (leaseholder protections, sections 116 to 125 and Schedule 8); GOV.UK and LEASE building safety guidance. Last reviewed [date]; reviewed whenever the law or guidance changes.