Do leaseholders have to pay for cladding remediation?

In England, the Building Safety Act 2022 gives qualifying leaseholders the strongest cladding-cost protection in the UK. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use funding, developer commitments or discretionary schemes instead, so the legal answer is not the same across the four nations.

Do leaseholders have to pay for cladding remediation?

In England, a qualifying leaseholder does not have to pay a service charge for cladding remediation, because Schedule 8 to the Building Safety Act 2022 says: “No service charge is payable under a qualifying lease in respect of cladding remediation.” The leaseholder protections for BSA 2022 apply only in England, and the government states: “The leaseholder protections apply to leaseholders in a relevant building in England only.” That means the answer to whether leaseholders are protected against cladding on buildings depends on the nation: Wales has no equivalent statutory bar, even though its guidance and developer pact are designed so leaseholders will not bear the costs; Scotland’s programme says funding “is not guaranteed”; and Northern Ireland confirms that the Building Safety Act is not generally applicable there. The English protection still depends on qualifying-lease status, including the BSA rule that landlords owning more than three properties are non-qualifying leaseholders.

Are non-cladding fire safety costs capped for leaseholders?

In England, non-cladding fire safety remediation costs are capped for qualifying leaseholders at £15,000 in Greater London and £10,000 elsewhere, but that cap is not a UK-wide rule and does not turn non-cladding work into a free item. Schedule 8 gives the London cap as “£15,000” where the premises are in Greater London and “£10,000” otherwise, so non cladding remediation costs are treated differently from cladding remediation itself. In Scotland, the published cladding programme is narrower, stating: “We will only fund work that is related to cladding remediation.” In Wales, LEASE says of relevant safety measures such as waking watch: “You may have to pay for any relevant safety measures through your service charge because they're not covered by the remediation contract.” The practical distinction is simple: in England cladding remediation is barred for qualifying leases, while some non-cladding historical safety costs are capped rather than banned.

Who pays for cladding remediation if the leaseholders do not?

In England, cladding remediation is paid by the developer or linked owner where one still owns the unsafe building, or by a government-backed developer-funded scheme where no responsible developer is available. Government guidance says: “Where a developer or a linked company still owns a building with an unsafe cladding system, it cannot pass on any costs and must pay for the removal itself.” For 11–18 metre buildings, it adds that “a new scheme, funded by developers through the Building Safety Levy, will pay for eligible work to fix unsafe cladding systems.” Wales uses the developer pact and Welsh Building Safety Fund, including for orphan buildings with no identified or trading developer. Scotland says government funding can go to institutional owners, homeowners and factors who register and meet criteria. Northern Ireland operates a Cladding Safety Scheme for blocks where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced or held responsible.

How much does cladding remediation cost per flat?

There is no official cladding remediation cost per flat: England’s government data is published per square metre of cladding, with a mean of £1,843/m² and an expected range of £743–£2,943/m² at Q2 2025 prices. The MHCLG analysis says: “The mean cost of remediation (when excluding outliers) is £1,843 per m2 cladding remediated and the expected cost range is between £743 and £2,943 per m2 (Q2 2025 prices).” The £4,000–£115,000 average cost of cladding remediation per flat quoted elsewhere is a market estimate, not government data: one property-advice source puts minor balcony or panel work at around £4,000 per flat and full replacement on larger blocks at up to £115,000 per flat or more. Window replacement is separate from cladding unless it forms part of the external wall remediation specification.

Can you challenge a cladding bill that ignores qualifying leaseholder status?

In England and Wales, a leaseholder can ask the First-tier Tribunal whether a service charge is payable, and in England a qualifying leaseholder can challenge a cladding bill that wrongly ignores protected status or relies on a false landlord certificate. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 says: “An application may be made to the appropriate tribunal for a determination whether a service charge is payable and, if it is, as to—”. For BSA status disputes, an FTT decision records that “Regulation 11(2)(a) allows for an application to the tribunal where it is contended that a landlord has made a false claim in the Landlord's Certificate”. If the landlord fails to give a compliant certificate, the regulations say the protection condition is treated as met. The important limit is that the same FTT decision says the Tribunal has “no power” to force a landlord to produce a certificate in the first place.

Do leaseholders have to pay for improvements to the building?

Leaseholders only have to pay for improvements to the building if the lease allows those improvement costs to be recovered through the service charge, and cladding remediation in England is different because Schedule 8 can override the lease for qualifying leaseholders. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 defines a service charge as including sums payable for “services, repairs, maintenance, improvements or insurance or the landlord's costs of management,” but that does not itself create a right to charge: the lease must do the work. LEASE says the private-sector norm plainly: “Most leases in the private sector do not say that leaseholders must contribute to the cost of improving the building.” Where the lease does allow improvement charges, the Upper Tribunal has said “the approach to the test is different” for repairs and improvements, so improvement bills attract closer scrutiny than ordinary repair costs.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Building Safety Act 2022 Sch.8 para.8(1) — “No service charge is payable under a qualifying lease in respect of cladding remediation.” Source
• GOV.UK, qualifying lease and extent guidance — “The leaseholder protections apply to leaseholders in a relevant building in England only.” Source
• Northern Ireland Department for Communities, Cladding Safety Scheme — “The Building Safety Act (BSA) is not applicable to Northern Ireland with the exception of provisions relating to Homes Ombudsman Scheme and Construction Products which are reserved matters.” Source
• Northern Ireland SR 2021/252 — “Support under this Fund is to be provided for the benefit of leaseholders in residential properties over 18 metres in height (or within the 30cm tolerance) who would otherwise have an obligation to meet the cost of cladding remediation by virtue of provisions in their leases.” Source
• Welsh Government developer remediation contract recital — “Under English and Welsh law at that time, the leaseholders of such buildings would typically be obliged to fund the costs associated with any remediation of those defects.” Source
• Welsh Government fire safety remediation guidance — “Leaseholders will not bear the costs of these works.” Source
• mygov.scot, cladding open call — “Funding is not guaranteed and will be subject to checks.” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 Sch.8 para.6(2)(a) — “(a)if the premises demised by the qualifying lease are in Greater London, £15,000;” Source
• Building Safety Act 2022 Sch.8 para.6(2)(b) — “(b)otherwise, £10,000.” Source
• mygov.scot, cladding open call — “We will only fund work that is related to cladding remediation.” Source
• LEASE, historic fire safety defects in Wales — “You may have to pay for any relevant safety measures through your service charge because they're not covered by the remediation contract.” Source
• GOV.UK, leaseholder protections on building safety costs in England — “Where a developer or a linked company still owns a building with an unsafe cladding system, it cannot pass on any costs and must pay for the removal itself.” Source
• GOV.UK, leaseholder protections on building safety costs in England — “For buildings 11-18 metres in height: a new scheme, funded by developers through the Building Safety Levy, will pay for eligible work to fix unsafe cladding systems.” Source
• Welsh Government fire safety remediation guidance — “Orphan buildings are buildings that have no identified developer, the developer has ceased trading, or the building was constructed prior to 1992.” Source
• Scottish Government cladding remediation programme factsheet — “However, the Government will provide funding to institutional owners such as social landlords, homeowners and factors who register an expression of interest and meet criteria.” Source
• Inside Housing, Northern Ireland cladding remediation fund — “As in England, the Northern Ireland funding applies to blocks where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced or held responsible.” Source
• MHCLG, cladding remediation unit costs 2025 — “The mean cost of remediation (when excluding outliers) is £1,843 per m2 cladding remediated and the expected cost range is between £743 and £2,943 per m2 (Q2 2025 prices).” Source
• Propelr, selling a flat with cladding — “At the lower end, buildings requiring only balcony remediation or minor cladding panel replacement may face costs of around £4,000 per flat.” Source
• Propelr, selling a flat with cladding — “At the upper end, full cladding replacement on larger blocks can cost up to £115,000 per flat or more, depending on the building's size, height, and the complexity of the external wall system.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.27A — “An application may be made to the appropriate tribunal for a determination whether a service charge is payable and, if it is, as to—” Source
• Flat 16 Grove House FTT decision — “Regulation 11(2)(a) allows for an application to the tribunal where it is contended that a landlord has made a false claim in the Landlord's Certificate and Regulation 11(2)(b) applies where the leaseholder has not been given sufficient time to respond.” Source
• Flat 16 Grove House FTT decision — “This means that the Tribunal has no power to make the type of order contemplated under paragraph 16.” Source
• Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2022 — “If a current landlord does not provide a certificate which complies with this regulation in the form outlined in Schedule 1 to the leaseholder, the condition in paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 8 to the Act is to be treated as met in accordance with paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 8 to the Act.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.18 — “(a)which is payable, directly or indirectly, for services, repairs, maintenance, improvements or insurance or the landlord's costs of management, and” Source
• LEASE, what can be included in service charges — “Most leases in the private sector do not say that leaseholders must contribute to the cost of improving the building.” Source
• Waaler v Hounslow LBC, Upper Tribunal — “The decision of the Upper Tribunal was that the approach to the test is different depending upon whether the costs relate to works of repair or works of improvement.” Source