116Remediation costs under qualifying leases etc.(1)

The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision for and in connection with—

(a)

ensuring that no service charge is payable under a lease of premises in a relevant building in respect of a relevant measure relating to a relevant defect where a person of a specified description—

(i)

was a developer of the building (within the meaning given by section 115), or

(ii)

undertook or commissioned works relating to the defect;

(b)

ensuring that in specified circumstances no service charge is payable under a qualifying lease in respect of—

(i)

a relevant measure relating to a relevant defect;

(ii)

other specified works or services;

(c)

ensuring that a service charge is payable under a qualifying lease in respect of a relevant measure relating to a relevant defect only if (and so far as) specified conditions are met;

(d)

requiring a tenant under a qualifying lease to give relevant information or documents to the landlord under the lease or any superior landlord;

(e)

requiring a current or former landlord under a lease of premises in a relevant building to give relevant information or documents to a tenant under a lease of premises in the building or another person.

(2)

Regulations under this section may make provision for and in connection with—

(a)

preventing costs from being—

(i)

taken into account in determining any service charge or other amount payable under a lease, or

(ii)

met from a fund of a specified description;

(b)

ensuring that the regulations do not have the effect of increasing an amount payable by a tenant under a lease;

(c)

enabling an amount that is not recoverable under a lease as a result of the regulations to be recovered from—

(i)

a current or former landlord or superior landlord under the lease;

(ii)

a successor in title of such a person.

(3)

The provision that may be made by regulations under this section includes—

(a)

provision for circumstances in which the condition in subsection (1)(a) is to be treated as being met;

(b)

provision conferring functions on any devolved Welsh authority (within the meaning given by section 157A of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32));

(c)

provision for a covenant or agreement (whenever made) to be void insofar as it purports to exclude or limit any provision made by the regulations.

(4)

In this section—

“relevant information or documents” (“gwybodaeth neu ddogfennau perthnasol”) means information or documents that—

(a)

relate to a relevant building, and

(b)

are relevant to any matter in respect of which provision is made by regulations under this section;

“relevant measure” (“mesur perthnasol”), in relation to a relevant defect, means—

(a)

a measure taken to remedy the relevant defect, or

(b)

a relevant step taken in relation to the relevant defect;

“service charge” (“tâl gwasanaeth”) has the meaning given by section 18 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (c. 70) (and that definition applies in relation to a lease of premises that do not include a dwelling as it applies in relation to a lease of a dwelling);

“specified” (“penodedig”) means specified in the regulations.