Consultation on regulations to implement the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act

The Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act, which received Royal Assent in March, creates a new route through the courts that operators can use to access blocks of flats and apartments if a landowner is repeatedly unresponsive to requests for access. The Act will prevent a situation where a leaseholder is unable to receive a service due to the silence of their landowner.

The Act inserts a new Part 4A to the Electronic Communications Code which provides a process that telecommunications operators could use to gain access rights (or “code rights”) to multi-dwelling premises for a defined period. This only applies where:

• a lessee in occupation in a multi-dwelling building has requested a telecommunications service from an operator
  to connect the property
• the telecoms operator requires an access agreement with another person such as the landlord
• the landlord has not responded to the telecoms operator’s request for access.

DCMS has launched a consultation seeking views on the terms which will accompany the interim Code rights provided to operators who have successfully applied for an order made under Part 4A of the Electronic Communications Code.

The consultation closes on 4 August 2021.