Schedule 8: Remediation costs under qualifying leases Paragraph 18: Anti-avoidance Background
This is a new provision.
	Paragraph 18 ensures that the leaseholder protections provisions in this Schedule cannot be circumvented by contracts or agreements that seek to limit their effect.
	This means that, for example, if a leaseholder enters into a contract with their landlord agreeing to pay more than they are required to under this Schedule, that the terms of the contract purporting to require that are voided – the leaseholder cannot be required by any contract to pay more than they are required to under the Schedule.
	The provision applies equally to contracts that were entered into prior to the commencement of the provision. For example, if leaseholders had agreed in the past to pay their freeholder more than they are required to under this Schedule, then from the date on which the provision commences, that agreement is void and the leaseholders cannot be required to pay more than this Schedule dictates.
Example
In 2018, the leaseholders of a ten-storey block in Birmingham agreed to pay their freeholder £2,000 per year over ten years to remediate unsafe cladding. At the point of commencement of the provision, the leaseholders had paid £8,000 to remediate the cladding. Schedule 8 dictates that qualifying leaseholders cannot be charged for cladding remediation, that the non-cladding cap for leaseholders outside of London is £10,000, and any cladding or non-cladding costs paid in the past five years count towards the cap. Paragraph 18, when commenced, automatically voids the agreement the leaseholders entered into where that agreement seeks to restrict the provisions in the Schedule. This means that the qualifying leaseholders cannot be charged anything more for cladding remediation, as paragraph 8 of the Schedule specifically prohibits this. Because the leaseholders have each paid out £8,000 to date, their maximum liability in respect of non-cladding defects going forward is £2,000. Their freeholder would be entitled to charge them up to £1,000 (one tenth of the permitted maximum of £10,000) in respect of relevant measures relating to relevant defects, provided that those relevant measures do not relate to the remediation of unsafe cladding.