Building Safety Act and retrospectivity

One of the most difficult and controversial aspects of the Building Safety Act 2022 is the extent to which it has retrospective application. This issue divided the Court of Appeal in Adriatic Land 5 Ltd v Long Leaseholders at Hippersley Point [2025] EWCA Civ 856, where the question before the court was whether a landlord was entitled to recover certain service charges from tenants which had been incurred before the relevant provisions of the Act came into force. The majority held that the relevant provision did have retrospective effect at least to the extent of relieving the tenants of the obligation to make payment in respect of certain service charges which had been incurred but remained unpaid at the time at which the Act came into force. The decision of the Court of Appeal is also of some significance in so far as it calls into question the reliance placed by the Supreme Court on the Explanatory Notes to the Act in URS Corporation v BDW Trading Ltd [2025] UKSC 21.