Building Safety Fund: Information for leaseholders and residents
Information to support leaseholders and residents living in buildings in the Building Safety Fund (BSF).
Applies to England
What is the Building Safety Fund (BSF)?
The Building Safety Fund (BSF) opened in June 2020 for buildings over 18 metres. Its aim is to provide funding to fix fire safety problems with external cladding.
What is the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS)?
In July 2023 the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) opened. The CSS expands funding to include buildings between 11 and 18 metres (medium-rise buildings).
The CSS also covers ‘new’ applications for buildings outside London over 18 metres (high-rise buildings). The scheme has the same aims as the BSF.
Finding the right scheme for your building
The scheme which applies to your building will depend upon:
- where in the country your building is located
- how high your building is
- when the application was made
The two tables below will help you to find out which scheme applies to you. You will need to know when the application was made and how high your building is.
Buildings inside London
| Funding application made before July 2023 | Funding application made after July 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 to 18 metres | - | Cladding Safety Scheme |
| Over 18 metres | Building Safety Fund | Building Safety Fund |
Buildings outside London
| Funding application made before July 2023 | Funding application made after July 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 to 18 metres | - | Cladding Safety Scheme |
| Over 18 metres | Building Safety Fund | Cladding Safety Scheme |
The rest of this page provides further details about the Building Safety Fund (BSF).
There is separate information available for the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS).
Who can apply to the BSF
Only those with a legal responsibility for the safety of a building can apply to the BSF. They include:
- building freeholders
- head leaseholders
- resident management companies
- right to manage companies
- registered providers of social housing, notably housing associations and local authorities
These individuals or organisations are sometimes referred to as ‘responsible entities’ or applicants.
A responsible entity may choose to appoint a managing agent to make or lead the BSF application. The agent can act legally on their behalf and manage the application until work is complete.
Why the BSF changed in 2022
The BSF was first opened in 2020. The process was adapted, when it was reopened in 2022, to ensure that the level of building work matches the risk. Therefore, in some cases, cladding won’t necessarily need to be removed and replaced. Where this is the case, there is less disruption for residents. The safety of residents remains the highest priority.
2022 BSF applications
All new applications need to include a specialist report. We call this a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW) assessment. The report:
- describes the fire risks associated with any external cladding
- provides details of any recommended work to make the building safe
The BSF uses the information in the FRAEW to decide if an application is eligible and what work they will fund. Depending upon the fire risk, this could range from installing a sprinkler system to replacing all cladding.
The BSF will fund all work recommended by the FRAEW to reduce fire safety risks related to external cladding.
2020 BSF applications
Previous applicants who didn’t have full funding approved, or those where work hadn’t started had a choice when the 2022 BSF was reopened. They could either:
- continue with the 2020 BSF process following the Consolidated Advice Note (CAN) route, or
- switch to the 2022 BSF process
Where applicants chose to switch to the 2022 process, they needed to commission a FRAEW. The benefit of the FRAEW is that it also covers issues relating to external walls. This could potentially include items which were previously ineligible, such as balconies.
Do leaseholders need to pay anything?
If you are a qualifying leaseholder, you are protected in law from costs to make your building safe. This includes a cap to the amount you may be asked to contribute.
You are a qualifying leaseholder if your property is in a building above 11 metres and on 14 February 2022:
- your property was your main home, or
- you owned no more than three UK residential properties in total
You can check if you’ll have to pay to fix safety problems with your building by using our building safety costs eligibility checker.
Proving you are a qualifying leaseholder
You can show you are a qualifying leaseholder by completing a Deed of Certificate. You will need to give this to your building owner so that they can calculate any contribution you need to make, if any.
Developer remediation contract
Many large developers have signed the developer remediation contract. This means they have agreed to:
- take responsibility for work to fix fire safety problems in buildings they have developed over the last 30 years
- keep residents informed about work to fix their building
- reimburse costs incurred by building owners and leaseholders to fix their buildings
- reimburse any government funding received through the Building Safety Fund
There is separate information about the developer remediation contract. This includes a list of developers who have signed the contract so far.
Developer remediation and BSF applications
The action to be taken by a developer will depend on the stage an application has reached in the BSF process.
If the Grant Funding Agreement has been signed by the applicant, the work should go ahead under the BSF process. The original building developer must then reimburse any costs when work is complete.
If the Grant Funding Agreement hasn’t been signed, the developer should fix the problem themselves and cover the cost.
The work to fix the building will then continue outside the BSF process.
Either way, your building owner should keep you informed. They should tell you if a developer remediation contract has been signed and what this means for your building.
Getting further information about your building
The Building Safety Fund Leaseholder and Resident Service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provides regular updates on applications. The service is for any leaseholder or resident in a building with a BSF application.
Building owners should also keep you informed. As part of the BSF application process they have a duty to provide you with regular updates. They should either do this themselves or through their managing agent.
Dealing with those who fail to progress applications
The person or organisation responsible for your building has a legal duty to keep your building safe. This includes ensuring there are plans in place to fix fire safety issues in the building. If a plan is not already in place, they must complete a FRAEW and submit this with their application to the Building Safety Fund (BSF).
If the person or organisation responsible for your building does not act, they can be forced to. The Building Safety Act 2022 includes legal powers to make building owners take action.
Remediation orders and remediation contribution orders are available for:
- local authorities
- fire and rescue authorities
- the Building Safety Regulator
- the Secretary of State
- any person with a legal or fair interest in the building, including leaseholders
See also: making sure remediation work is done.
Getting a mortgage or selling your home if it has a fire safety problem
Some banks and building societies (mortgage lenders) have agreed as part of an industry statement to lend on mid and high-rise buildings with fire safety problems as long as either:
- safety issues are being fixed by the developer or through a government-funded scheme, such as the Building Safety Fund
- or the leaseholder has filled in a deed of certificate which should be sent to the building owner
Mortgage lenders who have agreed to lend include:
- Barclays
- Hodge Bank
- HSBC
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Nationwide
- NatWest
- Santander
- Skipton Building Society
- TSB
- Virgin Money
If you need proof that safety issues are being fixed you should speak to the person or organisation responsible for your building. Some lenders may choose to ask for an EWS1 form, although these are not legally required when selling a property. Read more about EWS1 forms on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) website.
Independent support and advice
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) provide independent specialist advice on leaseholder rights. They can support you if you have any concerns about unsafe cladding.
Updates to this page
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Hodge Bank has been added to the list of mortgage lenders.
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Skipton Building Society, TSB and Virgin Money join lenders' statement.
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How to obtain proof that safety issues are being fixed has been added. How to request a new EWS1 has been added.
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Added section on the Cladding Safety Scheme for buildings between 11-18 metres in England and new funding applications for buildings over 18 metres outside of London.
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Added information about the developer remediation contract.
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Update to section: How is government helping leaseholders and residents with issues with getting mortgages?
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Added information about the pilot launch of the Medium-Rise Scheme.
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Updated to reflect the reopening of the Building Safety Fund on 28 July 2022.
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Guidance updated to reflect new leaseholder protections coming into force.
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First published.