Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

On 12 February 2024 the requirement to provide a mandatory 10% biodiversity net gain will come into force (as per Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as inserted by Schedule 14 of the Environment Act 2021)). This relates to all major planning applications submitted on or after this date, with the aim to achieve a development that will result in more or better quality natural habitat than there was before the development took place.

What this means in practice – developers must deliver a 10% biodiversity net gain. There are three ways a developer can achieve this, it can be

1. on-site (within the red line boundary of a development site)
2. off-site (on their own land outside the development site, or buy off-site biodiversity units on the market)
3. or as a last resort, if developers cannot achieve on-site or off-site BNG, they must buy statutory biodiversity credits from the government.

Any on or off-site gains must be maintained for a minimum of 30 years, and will be secured via a legal agreement in the form of a s106 agreement or conservation covenant.

It is yet to be seen if the local planning authorities are ready to cope with the additional requirements (such as updating policy, ecology capabilities and resourcing), as such this could have further impact on the time it takes to receive a planning application decision.

What you can do now

• If you are intending on delivering land led schemes and submitting a planning application, seek expert advice from an ecologist at an early stage, they will be able to confirm the biodiversity value of the existing site (pre-development) and the quantity of BNG you will have to provide in order to secure planning permission.
• Consider whether you have any land available that may be suitable to use towards offsetting future BNG.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill 2023-24

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill 2023-24 (the Bill) was introduced to the House of Commons on 27 November 2023. The Bill’s second reading took place on 11 December 2023. The Bill’s main provisions are to:

• make it cheaper and easier for leaseholders in houses and flats to extend their lease and buy the freehold
• increase the standard lease extension term to 990 years, with ground rent reduced to a peppercorn (zero financial value), upon payment of a premium
• change the qualifying criteria to give more leaseholders the right to extend their lease, buy their freehold and take over management of their building
• improve the transparency of service charges and ensure leaseholders receive key information on a regular basis
• give leaseholders a new right to request information about service charges and the management of their building
• improve the transparency of administration charges and buildings insurance commissions
• ensure leaseholders are not subject to any unjustified legal costs and can claim their own legal costs from their freeholder
• give freehold homeowners who pay charges for the maintenance of communal areas and facilities on a private or mixed-tenure residential estate the right to challenge the reasonableness of charges and the standard of services provided
• improve the transparency of estate charges and ensure freehold homeowners receive key information on a regular basis
• ensure a rent charge owner is not able to take possession or grant a lease on a freehold property where the rentcharge remains unpaid for a short period of time.

Whilst this is still a moving area of change Capsticks will be reviewing the changes as and when they are announced.

Building Safety Act, higher risk buildings and second staircases

Latest on building safety regulations: second staircases in higher risk buildings and Building Safety Act 2022.

The government has taken significant steps to enhance building safety regulations to ensure the safety of residents and occupants. Key updates and developments include the government establishing a robust regulatory regime, centered around the newly formed Building Safety Regulator (BSR), to ensure the safety of buildings. In doing so there have been recent changes in statutory guidance on fire safety which include:

• a ban on combustible materials for residential buildings, hotels, hospitals, and student accommodation above 18 meters in height
• additional guidance for residential buildings between 11 meters and 18 meters
• a lower threshold for sprinkler systems in new apartment buildings, reduced from 30 meters to 11 meters
• requirement for wayfinding signage for firefighters in residential buildings above 11 meters
• mandatory Evacuation Alert Systems for residential buildings over 18 meters and Secure Information Boxes (SIB) for new residential buildings over 11 meters.

Second staircases in higher risk buildings

The new guidance will require the inclusion of second staircases in residential buildings in England above 18 meters, aligning with expert recommendations and international standards.

As part of transitional arrangements developers will have 30 months after the publication of the updated guidance to choose between following existing guidance or the new requirement for second staircases. After this period, all applications must conform to the new guidance.

What you can do now

• In relation to projects that are currently under construction; approved applications that do not comply with the new guidance will have 18 months to initiate construction according to the old guidelines; otherwise, they must submit a new application based on the updated requirements.

• In relation to matters concerning the safety of existing buildings; existing single-staircase buildings, when built in accordance with relevant standards and properly maintained, are considered safe. Lenders, managing agents, insurers, and other stakeholders should not impose additional requirements on these buildings.

It is important to note that buildings over 18 meters are subject to enhanced scrutiny through the new building control gateways and planning gateway one, ensuring their fire safety arrangements are thoroughly assessed.

Housing Forward View 2024

This article is part of Capsticks’ Housing Forward View 2023. Read the other articles featured in this publication below:

• Finance
• Governance
• Building safety

How Capsticks can help

To discuss how this may affect your organisation, please get in touch with Spencer Vella Sultana, Rita Saadeh, Suzanne Smith and Wilton Thomas.