Leaseholder deed of certificate

A leaseholder deed of certificate is the signed and witnessed form a leaseholder in England uses to prove that their lease is a qualifying lease under the Building Safety Act 2022. A qualifying lease is protected from paying for cladding remediation and has capped contributions towards other historical fire and structural safety defects in buildings at least 11 metres high or with five or more storeys. The certificate does not create the protection; it gives the landlord the evidence it needs to apply it, and a landlord that asks for one and does not receive it can treat the lease as unprotected.

Who has a qualifying lease

A lease qualifies if it is a long lease, granted for more than 21 years, of a single flat in a relevant building, the leaseholder pays a service charge, and the lease was granted before 14 February 2022. On that date, one more condition must also have been met: the flat was the leaseholder’s only or principal home, or the leaseholder owned no more than three dwellings in the UK in total, counting this one.

That last condition is the one that matters most to landlords. A buy-to-let landlord who owned three or fewer UK properties on 14 February 2022 has a qualifying lease on each of them, even though none is their home. A landlord who owned four or more on that date does not, unless the flat was where they lived. Properties bought or sold after 14 February 2022 do not change the answer, because the test is fixed at that date. A lease extension that replaces a qualifying lease keeps the protection.

What the certificate must contain

The certificate must be made on the official GOV.UK template, signed by the leaseholder named on the lease and executed as a deed, which means a witness who is not a family member or someone you live with must also sign. It records the address of the flat, the leaseholder’s name now and on 14 February 2022, and whether the lease was shared ownership on that date. It must be sent with supporting evidence:

Evidence of the last open-market sale before 14 February 2022, usually the HM Land Registry title register showing the date and price paid, which the landlord uses to work out the flat’s value.

If you rely on the flat being your home, evidence that it was your only or principal home on 14 February 2022, such as a council tax bill, utility bill or bank statement for that date.

If the lease was shared ownership, a copy of the lease and evidence of the share you held on that date.

If you owned no more than three UK properties on 14 February 2022, you confirm that on the form and do not need proof of residence.

When you must send it

You can send a deed of certificate at any time. You must send one when your landlord serves a notice asking for it, which usually happens when the building has a relevant defect or when you tell the landlord you are selling. The notice must include a copy of the form, the landlord’s address and a reply date at least eight weeks after you receive it. You can ask for an extra four weeks, but only before the reply date passes. The landlord cannot charge you a fee for the notice or for processing your certificate.

If you do not reply in time, or reply that you will not provide one, the landlord can treat the lease as not qualifying for that defect. It can also assume a higher value for the flat, which affects the cap, and treat a shared ownership lease as if you owned 100%. That is why a certificate request deserves the same priority as a court letter.

What the protection is worth

For a qualifying lease, the landlord cannot charge anything through the service charge for remediating unsafe cladding. Contributions towards other historical safety defects, including interim measures such as waking watch, are capped and spread over ten years, with anything already paid since 28 June 2017 counted towards the cap. The cap is £10,000, or £15,000 in Greater London, rising to £50,000 for flats worth more than £1 million and £100,000 for flats worth more than £2 million.

Some qualifying leaseholders pay nothing at all: those whose flat was worth less than £325,000 in Greater London or £175,000 elsewhere in England on 14 February 2022, and those whose landlord’s group had a net worth above £2 million per relevant building on that date. Leaseholders whose lease does not qualify still cannot be charged where the landlord or a company connected to it was responsible for the defect. The GOV.UK leaseholder protections guidance sets out each exemption.

The landlord’s certificate

The landlord’s certificate is a separate document that the building owner must give leaseholders, setting out whether the owner was responsible for the defects and its net worth on 14 February 2022. It is due within four weeks of being told about a sale, of becoming aware of a new defect, of a leaseholder’s request, or of receiving a deed of certificate with new information. Without a valid landlord’s certificate, the owner cannot pass remediation costs on through the service charge, and since August 2023 it must also send copies of both certificates to any managing agent, resident management company or right to manage company within a week.

If you let out a flat in a taller block

From working with landlords who own leasehold flats, we see the same problem at the same moment: the deed of certificate is requested when a sale or remortgage is already under way, and the landlord cannot find the evidence for a date four years ago. Complete one now if your building is 11 metres or taller, keep the Land Registry title and your 14 February 2022 property count with it, and you will not be working against an eight-week deadline. Our guide to the Building Safety Act for landlords covers the other duties that apply to taller blocks.

The certificate stays with the lease, so when you sell, your buyer inherits the protection and their solicitor will ask for a copy. Store it, the landlord’s certificate and the building’s EWS1 form together in August’s document storage.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a leaseholder deed of certificate if my building is under 11 metres?

No. The Building Safety Act leaseholder protections, and the certificate that goes with them, apply only to buildings at least 11 metres high or with at least five storeys and two or more flats. Owners of flats in lower buildings are not covered by this scheme.

Does the deed of certificate apply in Wales?

No. The leaseholder protections in Schedule 8 of the Building Safety Act 2022 and the deed of certificate apply in England only. Wales runs its own building safety programme for affected buildings.

Do I qualify if I own more than three properties?

Only if the flat was your only or principal home on 14 February 2022. If you owned four or more UK dwellings on that date and the flat was a rental, the lease does not qualify, although you still cannot be charged where the landlord or its associates caused the defect.

Can I send a deed of certificate before my landlord asks for one?

Yes. You can complete and send one at any time, and doing so early means the landlord and any future buyer already have the evidence on file. Your landlord must then update its landlord’s certificate within four weeks if your certificate contains new information.