What MHCLG proposes

The department's release of 27 October says protections for non-cladding building-safety costs generally cover people who owned no more than three properties on 14 February 2022. It plans to raise that limit to six, so owners of four to six properties on that date who did not qualify would be protected from having those costs passed on.

Separately, it is exploring how to narrow a gap for people who later buy a flat as their only or main home but still miss the protections because a previous owner was ineligible. Under the present rules the protected or unprotected status of the lease, fixed on 14 February 2022, passes to later buyers. Eligibility and funding details are to come later as the bill passes. No consultation close date appears.

What the law says now

Section 119 of the Building Safety Act 2022 defines a qualifying lease. Among other conditions, at the beginning of 14 February 2022 the dwelling had to be the tenant's only or principal home, or the tenant had to own no more than two other dwellings in the United Kingdom (no more than three in total including the lease). Schedule 8 limits or blocks service charges for relevant defects on qualifying leases. MHCLG guidance confirms the same three-property test and that lease status on that date transfers to future buyers. The protections apply in England only. Neither the release nor the current test sets a nationality condition. The ownership count looks at dwellings in the United Kingdom.

Bill status

The bill was introduced on 14 October 2026. The proposals were unveiled during its Commons second reading on 27 October. The bill is not yet law. The three-to-six and previous-owner measures remain proposals still to be written into or alongside it.

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Sources

Sources read 28 October 2026.