Business Property Relief is changing in 2026 – What business owners need to know
From 6 April 2026, the rules for Business Property Relief (BPR) will change. For many business owners this could alter
Our legal specialists advise on liabilities, duties and responsibilities under the Building Safety Act 2022.
The Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced following the Grenfell tragedy and brought significant reforms to building regulations, particularly for higher-risk buildings. The Act affects leaseholders, landlords, developers, contractors, consultants, RTM companies and homeowners. Each now faces new responsibilities and potential liabilities. Our specialist solicitors can help you understand what the Act means in practice, so you can remain compliant and manage risk effectively.
The Act has reshaped how responsibilities are shared in construction projects. Our construction team advises on drafting and reviewing contracts to reflect new compliance obligations. We support developers, contractors, sub-contractors and consultants in identifying risks and understanding their duties under the Act.
The Act has wide implications for property sales, purchases and remediation works. Our property conveyancing and real estate teams advise on the legal and financial impact of remediation, as well as the effect of the Act on freehold reversion sales and the purchase of individual flats. We are able to act in relation to all transactions, other than purchases falling directly under this legislation.
The Act has changed the balance of rights and duties between landlords and leaseholders. Our regulatory and dispute resolution teams provide clear advice on compliance and support clients where disagreements arise. We are experienced in handling disputes through litigation, arbitration, adjudication and mediation.
The team at Tees have the diversity in knowledge that enable them to understand their clients needs. They operate with transparency and fairness.
Our expert solicitors can support you with:
The Building Safety Act has wide-reaching implications beyond construction and property. We have experienced lawyers with deep sector knowledge who can advise on a variety of challenges.
At Tees, we also have our own in-house independent financial advisers so we can give you joined-up legal and financial advice.
If you’d like to meet one of our building safety experts for a confidential, no obligation chat, please get in touch.
We have offices across Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, but we can help you wherever you are in England and Wales
The financial services provided on this page are by Tees Financial Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.Â
Our legal services are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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The Building Safety Act affects leaseholders, landlords, contractors, and developers of relevant and higher risk buildings
A relevant building has at least 5 storeys or is at least 11 meters high (whichever is reached first), contains at least two dwellings and is not a leaseholder-owned building.
The obligations in Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022 largely apply to occupied buildings and this is, therefore, referred to as the ‘in-occupation’ part of the regime. To understand whether a building is a higher-risk building, the Act and the Regulations need to be considered together.
For the in-occupation part of the regime, higher-risk buildings are defined as buildings with at least two residential units which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least 7 storeys.Â
Key criteria to consider when determining if a building is higher-risk includes:
The Government has provided guidance on the criteria for determining whether a building is a higher-risk building during the occupation phase of the new higher-risk regime.
Accountable persons and Principle Accountable Persons are responsible for managing the building safety risks in occupied higher risk buildings. There may be multiple accountable persons in relation to a higher risk building, but there will only ever be one principal accountable person.
The accountable person is generally the person liable to repair the common parts and may be an individual or a company. Where there is only one accountable person, that person will also be the principal accountable person. Where there is more than one accountable person the principal accountable person is the accountable person who:
The Act places the responsibility for remedying defective building on those that those who built them, even where they no longer own the building, and aims to protect leaseholders from defective buildings take responsibility for remedying them and aims to protect leaseholders from crippling bills for historical safety defects.
The leaseholder protections came into force on 28 June 2022, with new financial protections for leaseholders in relevant buildings with relevant historical safety defects.
More information on what leaseholders do and do not have to pay can be found in Remediation costs: what leaseholders do and do not have to pay.
A current landlord must provide a Landlord’s Certificate to a leaseholder in each of the following circumstances:
Building owners must make their buildings safe. This includes fixing historical building safety defects.
The Act imposes new legal obligations on developers and building owners to protect leaseholders from paying for all, or some of, the costs of remediating relevant historical building safety defects. This might include costs to replace unsafe cladding systems on the external walls of their building, or internal issues such as inadequate fire doors or alarm systems.Â
More information on building owner’s legal obligation can be found here:
The majority of applications and appeals under the Building Safety Act are made to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) and allocated to the Residential Property part of the Property Chamber.Â
A recent court case BDW Trading Ltd v Ardmore Construction Ltd determined that disputes relating to the Building Safety Act can be determined by an adjudicator.
Enforcement of resident’s duties is achieved through a contravention notice being served by the appropriate accountable person.
Compliance notices are notices requiring the recipient to take specified steps or to remedy a breach of any requirements in relation to building safety. A compliance notice can be served as either a remedial or preventative measure to remedy a breach or avoid a contravention. A compliance notice can either require the recipient to take specified steps or simply require the recipient to remedy the breach or the matters giving rise to it. It will specify the period for compliance.
The first Tier Tribunal may make a Special Measures Order appointing a Special Measures manager for a building to carry the functions of all accountable persons if it is satisfied that there has been a serious failure by an accountable person to comply with their duties or a failure to comply on two or more occasions.
The Act also creates a number of criminal offences in relation to higher risk buildings including
If the property you own falls under this Act there are additional documents that we will need to be able to provide as part of the process. If these are not available we will be able to provide guidance on the steps needed to obtain them.
