Building Safety Act 2022: First-tier Tribunal makes first Remediation Order under the BSA 2022 (Leaseholders at 2-4 Leigham Court Road v Kedai Limited – 2023)

S.123 of the Building Safety Act 2022 introduces Remediation Orders, for which applications may be made to the First-tier Tribunal in respect of “relevant defects” in a “relevant building”. The BSA 2022, and its provisions for Remediation Orders, introduce leaseholder protections in respect of service charge costs arising from remediation works incurred as a result of safety concerns following the Grenfell Tower fire.

“Relevant defects” are defined in s.120 as:

“…a defect as regards the building that:

• arises as a result of anything done (or not done), or anything used (or not used), in connection with relevant works; and
• causes a building safety risk.”

The First-tier Tribunal has recently made its first Remediation Order under the Act.

The background

In Leaseholders at 2-4 Leigham Court Road v Kedai Limited [2023], an application for a Remediation Order was made by a group of leaseholders at a development in south London comprising two blocks: the South Block and the North Block.

Kedai Ltd is the freeholder of the development and is the respondent in this application. Concerns were raised as to the aluminium cladding on the exterior of the building, and in respect of compartmentation of the internal structure to prevent fire spread.

One long leaseholder brought an application to the First-tier Tribunal for a remediation order, pursuant to which additional parties were joined into the proceedings and a further application for a remediation order was made by additional long leaseholders of the second block at the development. In total, 30 leaseholders of flats in the two blocks joined the applications. The local authority, Lambeth Council, joined the application as an interested party but played no part in the proceedings or hearings.

The decision

The FTT made the Remediation Order against Kedai Ltd, which was ordered to remedy specified defects by no later than 19 September 2025. The remediation order is enforceable.

In its judgment, the FTT focused on the purpose of the BSA 2022, which was to protect leaseholders from potential harm caused by unsafe buildings, and to prevent them facing significant repayment sums in respect of remedial costs incurred by landlords. The FTT’s pragmatic view set to one side more minor procedural or technical issues which deviated from this key purpose.

Leaseholders were largely unrepresented throughout the proceedings, save for shortly prior to the final hearing. Several remedies were sought by leaseholders acting in person which fell outside of the FTT’s jurisdiction, but these were disregarded by the FTT which was limited to matters raised only by the BSA 2022.

Advice and action for landlords

This decision, and key first remediation order, is of critical importance to JB Leitch’s landlord and developer sector clients, and is central to our team’s work in respect of the Building Safety Act 2022.

The decision provides crucial guidance as to how the FTT will seek to interpret and enforce the BSA 2022, in particular where leaseholders are (in the main) unrepresented. In its judgment, the FTT took a pragmatic and sympathetic approach to the leaseholders’ applications, with reference to the underlying purpose of the BSA 2022 to protect leaseholders from significant service charge costs incurred as a result of remedial works, and from harm caused by unsafe buildings.