Schedule 8: Remediation costs under qualifying leases Paragraph 1: Interpretation Background
This is a new provision.
	The explanatory note to section 122 gives a general overview of the provisions in Schedule 8. This paragraph sets out definitions that are relevant to the subsequent paragraphs, many of which have been provided in sections 117 to 121.
	A number of multi-occupied residential buildings in England have been found to have historical building safety defects which can be costly to put right. The pre-existing legal position in most cases is that leaseholders are liable in full for these costs. The leaseholder protections change the law to protect leaseholders from some or all these costs.
	Section 120 defines a "relevant defect" for the purposes of the leaseholder protections as defects which have been created in the past 30 years, which give rise to a building safety risk, and which have arisen due to the way the work was done (including in relation to the provision of professional services) and the use of defective or inappropriate products in construction.
	Paragraph 1 defines the types of work (defined as a "relevant measure") in relation to relevant defects to which the leaseholder protections apply. As well directly remediating defects (such as removing unsafe cladding), the protections also apply to interim measures like waking watches and other measures which mitigate against risks such as the installation of fire alarms. Fees incurred in connection with remedying relevant defects, for example project planning fees and costs of external wall fire risk assessment will also be caught by the definition of a relevant measure. This ensures that the leaseholder protections apply to all types of costs which could be incurred in connection with making buildings safe due to historical building safety risks.