<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

Landlords, operators and managers of buildings in England that contain 2 or more residential units which share communal spaces will be impacted by the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 (the "Regulations") that come into effect on 23 January 2023. They are laid under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 ("Fire Safety Order"), and implement the majority of the recommendations set out in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report.

In this briefing we look at some of the key changes to law and practice that we anticipate taking place in 2023 which will affect the real estate sector, focussing on real estate development, real estate investment, real estate M&A, real estate occupiers, the senior living sector and the private rental sector.

We reported last summer on the Government's 2021 consultation about the design and implementation of the Building Safety Levy (the "Levy"). It is intended to contribute to the costs of anticipated building safety expenditure to ensure that neither the taxpayer nor tenants have to pay for the remediation of safety defects in the existing high-rise housing stock. Since that consultation, the scope of the Levy has expanded to apply to all new residential developments that require building control approval (with a few exceptions). The Building Safety Act 2022 has also been enacted, section 58 of which gives the Secretary of State broad powers to raise a Levy on any in-scope building.

In this briefing we look at 12 of the changes to law and practice that are likely to impact on the real estate sector in 2022.

This consultation is on the second "tax measure" announced by the Treasury ("HMT") in the March Budget – a new Gateway 2 Levy on high rise residential developments during the pre-construction stage. This is part of a package of measures intended to help pay for the remediation of certain buildings impacted by the cladding crisis, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy (the "Building Safety Levy").

In February, the Government announced a package of measures intended to resolve the problem of unsafe cladding on high-rise residential buildings.  

In the face of mounting pressure, the government, on 10 February, announced a 5 point plan for investment in building safety, with a further £3.5 billion earmarked for the removal of unsafe cladding.

2020 has been a tumultuous year; every part of our society and economy has had to adapt to a range of emergency measures and to an ongoing state of flux. In the real estate sector this has meant both the derailing of some anticipated legal changes and the introduction of some unexpected legislation.

Developers, pre-let tenants and funders are all looking hard at their development agreements, development funding agreements, agreements for leases and building contracts to assess what impact the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government's response to it, will have on their current construction works in England. We outline in this note some of the key information and issues for such parties to consider before deciding whether or not to suspend or continue their works.