[2025] UKUT 157 (LC)

The Building Safety Act 2022 was enacted following the fire at Grenfell Tower in 2017, and it contains provisions intended to secure the safety of people in buildings and to improve the standard of buildings. Part 5 is about the protection of leaseholders; among its provisions are sections 119 to 124 about remediation orders in relation to “relevant buildings”. A relevant building is defined as a self-contained building or part of a building containing at least 2 dwellings and being at least 11 metres high or having at least 5 storeys.

Section 123 of the Building Safety Act 2022 reads, so far as relevant, as follows:

“(1)

The Secretary of State may by regulation make provision for and in connection with remediation orders.

(2)

A "remediation order" is an order, made by the First-tier Tribunal on the application of an interested person, requiring a relevant landlord to do one or both of the following by a specified time—.

(a)

remedy specified relevant defects in a specified relevant building;

(b)

take specified relevant steps in relation to a specified relevant defect in a specified relevant building.

(3)

In this section "relevant landlord", in relation to a relevant defect in a relevant building, means a landlord under a lease of the building or any part of it who is required, under the lease or by virtue of an enactment, to repair or maintain anything relating to the relevant defect.

…

 In this section—

…"specified" means specified in the order.”

A “relevant defect” is defined in section 120(2):

“(2)

"Relevant defect", in relation to a building, means a defect as regards the building that—

(a)

arises as a result of anything done (or not done), or anything used (or not used), in connection with relevant works, and

(b)

causes a building safety risk.”

The provision made pursuant to section 123(1) is made in regulation 2(2) of the Building Safety (Leaseholder Protections) (Information etc) (England) Regulations 2022, which provides:

“The First-tier Tribunal may, on an application made by an interested person, make a remediation order under section 123 of the Act.”

Part 4 of the 2022 Act is entitled “Higher-Risk Buildings” and makes provision about the management of “building safety risks” in relation to such buildings – defined in section 65 as being at least 18m tall or at least seven storeys, containing two or more residential units. Part 4 creates the status of an “accountable person” who has certain duties and responsibilities for the safety of the building. The Act gives the FTT jurisdiction to decide who is an accountable person, but not to decide whether or not a building is a higher-risk building.