Renters’ Rights Bill Resolves Key Conflict with Building Safety Act

This is one of the most technical but critical areas where the Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) intersects with the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA).

The reforms are designed to resolve a serious legal dilemma faced by thousands of Qualifying Leaseholders (QCLs) who own flats in unremediated high-rise buildings. These changes finally allow affected leaseholders to let out their homes without losing vital legal protection against multi-million-pound remediation bills.

The Legal Problem

Under the Building Safety Act 2022, Qualifying Leaseholders are protected from paying the bulk of cladding and non-cladding remediation costs. However, one condition of that protection is the “leaseholder-only occupation test”.

The trap: if a QCL rents out their flat — for example due to relocation, family reasons or military service — they risk breaching that test. This could strip them of QCL status and make them liable for the full cost of fixing their building.

The result: many leaseholders were effectively trapped in unsafe, unsellable properties, unable to move or rent without incurring huge financial exposure.

The RRB Solution: Ground 9A

The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces a new mandatory possession ground — Ground 9A — specifically designed to address this issue.

1. Certainty of Re-Occupation

Ground 9A gives a leaseholder-landlord in an unremediated block a guaranteed legal route to recover possession from tenants in order to move back in and satisfy the BSA occupation test.

• Mechanism: The landlord can let out the flat temporarily, but has a fixed, certain means of ending the tenancy when they need to re-occupy it.
• Mandatory nature: The court must grant possession if the criteria are met, ensuring the leaseholder can regain control of their home before losing their QCL protection.

2. Clarifying the “Relevant Period”

The RRB also supports the BSA’s concept of a “Relevant Period” — typically up to 12 months — during which a QCL can rent out their property without forfeiting protection, provided the let is for legitimate reasons such as employment, illness or divorce.

By formally establishing Ground 9A, the RRB gives leaseholders confidence that they can make use of this temporary letting period while retaining the ability to recover the property promptly if required.

The Net Effect

The reform does not remove the BSA’s core condition that leaseholders must occupy their own property. Instead, it introduces a reliable legal mechanism for temporary letting, with guaranteed re-occupation rights to maintain their protected status.

For the first time, trapped leaseholders can participate in the rental market without jeopardising their financial safety — a crucial step toward restoring mobility and fairness in the post-Grenfell housing landscape.