Is your landlord refusing to provide the Landlord’s Certificate?
As a leaseholder, waiting for your landlord to provide the documents you need can be extremely frustrating. If you have requested a Landlord’s Certificate, your landlord must comply with your request within a specific framework. This post explains your landlord’s legal obligations for providing the Landlord’s Certificate, and what you can do if they are failing to meet them.
What is a relevant defect?
A relevant defect, under the Building Safety Act 2022, is a defect that:
- Puts people’s safety at risk from the spread of fire or structural collapse; and
- Arises from work done to the building (such as design, construction, or refurbishment) that either failed to meet building regulations or safety standards in force at the time, or used unsafe materials or methods that compromise the safety of occupants.
Examples of a relevant defect include inadequate or missing fire-stopping measures, unsafe cladding or insulation, and defective structural elements that could cause collapse.
These rules apply primarily to residential buildings that are at least 11 metres tall or have at least five storeys.
What is the Landlord’s Certificate?
The Landlord’s Certificate is a document that shows certain information about your lease. The purpose of the certificate is to give leaseholders all relevant information relating to their building, notably whether any relevant defects exist and if so, whether the leaseholder will have to contribute towards the costs of remediation through service charges.
To comply with the Building Safety Act 2022, landlords must provide leaseholders with a certificate that shows:
- If they were responsible on 14 February 2022 for a relevant defect [SC1] (or associated with someone responsible for it, e.g. the developer);
- If the leaseholder has provided a deed of certificate confirming qualifying status for leaseholder protections;
- The net worth of the landlord on 14 February 2022, including the landlord’s business partners or companies within the landlord group.
When must a Landlord’s Certificate be provided?
Reasons a Landlord’s Certificate would need to be provided include if the leaseholder has asked for one, and if the status of the property is about to change in relation to relevant defects.
If you have asked that your landlord provide a Landlord’s Certificate, they must comply with your request within four weeks.
Other cases where a landlord must provide the document include:
- Upon receiving a notification from you that your leasehold interest is to be sold;
- Upon becoming aware of a relevant defect which was not covered by a previous Landlord’s Certificate;
- Upon becoming aware of a new leaseholder deed of certificate which contained information that was not included in a previous landlord’s certificate.
Why a Landlord’s Certificate is needed
Simply put, the Building Safety Act 2022 mandated that the Landlord’s Certificate must be provided in the scenarios outlined above.
For buyers and mortgage lenders, the presence of the correct documentation is essential in order to complete sales or remortgages. Similarly, leaseholders need the Landlord’s Certificate to prove their protections under the Building Safety Act 2022.
What happens if your landlord does not provide the certificate?
Following recent changes to the law, a landlord must now provide a Landlord’s Certificate in order to pass on part of the cost of remediation to the leaseholder through the service charge.
This means that, if the four-week period has passed and you have still not received the requested certificate, qualifying leaseholders will not be liable for any service charge costs for taking any relevant measures relating to any relevant defects, and the landlord will instead be treated as being responsible.
How Attwaters can help
For leaseholders dealing with unresponsive landlords, it can be difficult to understand exactly what your rights are. If you have requested a Landlord’s Certificate and have not been provided with one, you should speak to a legal expert to make sure any actions you take are protected under the Building Safety Act.
Our specialist solicitors offer clear, high-quality legal advice that is always aimed at helping you find the most suitable and amicable resolution for your dispute. Get in touch today!
[SC1]A brief explanation of this term would be useful.
