Part 8 – Amendments of Part 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022 Section 117: Recovery of legal costs etc through service charge
Section 117 amends paragraph 9 of Schedule 8 of the 2022 Act by inserting new subsections 9(1A), 9(3) and 9(4).
	New subsection (1A) disapplies the existing prohibition in paragraph 9 of Schedule 8 against recovery of legal and other professional fees by permitting Management Companies to recover, via the service charge when the lease permits, legal and other professional costs incurred in connection with an application or a possible application for or relating to a remediation contribution order.
	New subsection (3) defines ‘management company’ to mean a resident management company or a right to manage company within the meaning of Chapter 1, Part 2 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.
	New subsection (4) goes on to define a ‘resident management company’.
	Section 117 is not retrospective and does not apply to legal or professional services obtained for a remediation contribution order before the Section comes into force. Section 117 only applies where the lease currently allows for recovery of such costs through the service charge provisions in the lease.