Our services
LEASE provides free initial advice on the law that applies to fire safety, for leaseholders (full and shared ownership) in buildings containing flats, including those with cladding, to ensure they are aware of their rights and are supported to understand the terms of their leases.
You can get free advice from our experienced advisers, by booking a telephone appointment, or by writing to us. If there are 20 or more leaseholders in your building, then an outreach event may be the most efficient way for us to assist. We can speak to the group about a particular point of concern and/or have an advice surgery for individuals to obtain personal advice. Please use our event form to arrange an event close to you. We can also hold events by Teams or conference call.
If you are a leaseholder with fire safety concerns we encourage you to complete this survey. The information you provide will be passed on to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, to assist them in determining the necessary response to fire safety issues and concerns. You may be contacted for a follow up. The Government are keen to hear from leaseholders for their views on this important issue.
Code of Practice for the remediation of residential buildings
The Code makes clear what you can expect during projects where works are required due to the external walls of a residential building
Remediation contribution orders
The advice guide Remediation contribution orders provides a framework for any person considering applying for a remediation contribution order.
Cladding Safety Scheme
The CSS will provide funding for the remediation or mitigation of life safety fire risks associated with externally cladded walls on eligible buildings over 11 metres outside of London and between 11-18 metres inside of London where a responsible developer cannot be identified, traced, or held responsible
Leaseholders concerned about their building’s eligibility should:
- Contact the Responsible Entity (see Who can apply) to encourage them to apply to the CSS.
- Use the Tell Us Tool to share details about your building directly with the government. This helps identify potentially eligible buildings and facilitates contact with the relevant freeholder or manager.
- For further details and guidance, visit the official Cladding Safety Scheme page.
Building Safety Fund
Buildings with unsafe cladding above 18 metres in London could be eligible for the Building Safety Fund.
- What are the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act 2022?
- What is the Building Safety Fund?
- What should I know about the Building Safety Fund, opened in 2022?
- Who applies to the Building Safety Fund?
- How can I find out what happened to the Building Safety Fund application made for my building in 2020?
- What is a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW)?
- Which applicants to the Building Safety Fund need to commission a Fire Risk Appraisal for External Walls now?
- What happens to existing applications to the Building Safety Fund that didn’t make it to the application stage?
- What happens to existing applications to the Building Safety Fund that made it through to application stage?
- Why not just remove the cladding?
- What is the developer remediation contract?
- How will the developer remediation contract affect my building?
- Can building owners re-apply to the Building Safety Fund?
- Can my building owner apply to the Building Safety Fund if they have already started remediation work?
- Do I have to pay for the remediation works on my building (over 18m)?
- What is a “qualifying leaseholder” for leaseholder protections?
- What can leaseholders and residents do if their responsible entity is not taking action to rectify historical building safety defects?
- As an economic actor, will the Building Safety Fund be capped for my building?
- How will Government make sure that building owners make high-rise buildings with cladding safe?
- How is Government helping leaseholders and residents with mortgage and insurance issues?
Fire Risk Assessments
- What is a fire risk assessment?
- How do I get a copy of my building’s fire risk assessment?
- My building has no fire risk assessment. What do I do?
- Fire risk assessments: how often must they be done?
- Who is responsible for carrying out a fire risk assessment?
- Who can carry out a fire risk assessment?
- I’m responsible for fire safety in a block of flats. Do I need a fire risk assessment?
- Who pays for a fire risk assessment?
- Who is responsible for paying for works recommended under the fire risk assessment?
Fire safety regulations
Waking Watch
ACM Cladding
- What if my building has ACM cladding?
- When a seller of a leasehold flat replies to a purchaser’s enquiry and uses the Leasehold Property Enquiries Form LPE1 (LPE1), should it disclose proposals to replace the cladding?
- Has the government banned the use of combustible materials in cladding on blocks of flats?
- What is the ACM cladding remediation fund?
- What are interim safety measures?
Fire doors
- What is a fire door?
- Who owns and is responsible for the fire door?
- I own the front door to my flat and want to replace it. What do I do?
- What are the requirements for a fire door to comply with current Building Regulations?
- Can I be forced to upgrade or replace my front door if it is the door that was there when I purchased the flat?
- Who pays for the replacement or upgrade of an existing fire door?
- Who do I use to replace my fire door?
Sprinklers
NFCC Waking Watch Advice
Fact sheets on Fire safety
Template Letters
Building Safety Act forms
- Apply for a remediation order under the Building Safety Act 2022: Form BSA1
- Apply for a remediation contribution order under the Building Safety Act 2022: Form BSA2
- Apply for a determination on whether a landlord has failed to provide information or documents, and to require they are provided: Form BSA3
Articles on Fire Safety
- The Wales Leaseholder Support Scheme
- Housing announcement includes leasehold reform and Building Safety
- New guide for people with responsibilities for fire safety
- Six weeks for developers to sign contract to fix unsafe buildings
- Government launches consultation and call for evidence – ongoing costs of the new building safety regime
- Welsh Government’s Leaseholder Support Scheme – Expansion of Eligibility Criteria Announcement
- New fire safety regulations come into effect
- Leaseholders affected by cladding could find it easier to sell or remortgage
- Leaseholders in medium-rise buildings helped with cladding fixes
- Building Safety Levy consultation
- Call for evidence on leaseholder and commonholder-owned buildings with building safety defects
- Government reopens £4.5 billion Building Safety Fund for new applications
- Leaseholder Protections Checker
- Government publishes draft contract to turn developer pledges into legally binding agreements to protect leaseholders
- Building Safety Act 2022 leaseholder protections come into force
- The Building Safety Bill receives Royal Assent
- Government reaches agreement with major developers to fund building safety repairs
- Waking Watch Replacement Fund opens to applications
- Government launches the Building Safety Fund Leaseholder and Resident Service
- Government replaces guide to external wall assessments with new BSI code of practice
- Government forces developers to fix cladding crisis
- Fire Safety Bill comes into law in Wales
- Waking Watch Relief Fund Re-opened to applications using additional funding
- Government announces EWS1 forms will no longer be needed for buildings lower than 18 metres
- Government publishes the Building Safety Bill
- Waking Watch Relief Fund Re-opened to applications
- Fire Safety Bill becomes law
- RICS announces guidance for the valuation of properties in multi-storey, multi occupancy residential buildings with cladding
- Government announces multi-billion pound intervention to fully fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding
- £30 million Waking Watch Relief Fund now open for applications
- Government announces £30 million Waking Watch Relief Fund
- Government reaches agreement that buildings without cladding are not subject to EWS1
- Welsh Government – Written Statement: Building Safety Funding in Wales
- Welsh Government – Building Safety: Updated Position Statement
- Strengthening fire safety – a consultation paper published by the Home Office
- Government introduces Draft Building Safety Bill
- Wayfinding Signage
- Sprinklers and Access
- Government funding for the remediation of Non-ACM cladding – A quick guide for leaseholders to the Building Safety Fund
- Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee publishes its report ‘Cladding: progress of remediation’
- Government publishes the Registration Prospectus for the Building Safety Fund for the Remediation of Non-ACM Cladding Systems
- Joint pledge to continue cladding work despite COVID-19
- Government announces new building safety measures
- Government launches consultation on sprinklers and other fire safety measures in new high-rise blocks of flats
- Government funding for removal of ACM type cladding in high rise blocks
- Government’s action plan to accelerate remediation of private high-rise residential buildings with ACM cladding
- The use of wardens and recovery of costs from leaseholders- an important decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
- Cladding costs and fire marshals – a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)
- Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building regulations and fire safety publishes its final report
- Costs of removal of cladding and “waking watch”
