UK Leasehold Reform, decoded
The end of leasehold is coming. Here's what changes.
Plain-English explainers and a live tracker for the biggest shake-up in UK home ownership in a generation — built for leaseholders, RTM & RMC directors, and anyone who owns a flat.
Latest analysis The one exemption that could keep your ground rent above £250 — the quid pro quo consultation, decoded
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The reform story, in real time
We break down every meaningful move on commonhold and leasehold reform as it happens. Here's the latest post from the Manage.Management feed.
Follow for updatesWhere things stand
The Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Bill, tracked
Six milestones from White Paper to Royal Assent. We update this the day anything moves — no press release lag.
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Commonhold White Paper Complete
Published 3 March 2025. Government commits to making commonhold the default tenure and banning new leasehold flats. Read on gov.uk →
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Draft Bill Published Complete
27 January 2026. Caps existing ground rents at £250/year, tapering to peppercorn over 40 years; lowers the conversion threshold to 50% of qualifying leaseholders.
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Committee Scrutiny Complete
HCLG Committee's report landed 27 May 2026, calling the draft a "significant step" but pushing to shorten the ground-rent transition to 20 years. See the tracker →
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Government Response In progress
Due 27 July 2026, now delayed after the PM's resignation on 22 June. Three consultations, one policy response and a delay notice so far. On 29 September the government added new powers to cap permission and admin fees, and a licensing regulator for property agents.
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Introduction to Parliament Upcoming
Final Bill expected "autumn 2026". The new PM has committed to it this session; commentators now project Royal Assent by mid-2027.
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Royal Assent & Implementation Upcoming
No date yet — most legal commentators estimate the ground rent cap won't bite in practice until 2028.
Latest updates
Newest first, dated when each update happened. Tap a row for sources.
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Announced Caps on permission and admin fees, and a licensing regulator for property agents Announced by Angela Rayner at Labour conference. Consultation on which fees to cap, and at what level, to follow.
The government will legislate to give the Secretary of State powers to cap permission fees (for example, to keep a pet or make minor cosmetic changes) and administration fees (for example, supplying building safety certificates or being told about a change of mortgage lender). The powers will also cover privately managed freehold estates. A public consultation will set the scope and the amount for each item.
Separately, for the first time, property agents, including estate agents, managing agents and estate managers, will be independently regulated. A regulator will set codes of practice on conduct and complaint handling, agents will need a licence and appropriate qualifications, and licences can be revoked. No timetable yet: the government says it will act "as soon as possible". The BBC reports the £250 ground rent cap is still expected to take effect in late 2028.
MHCLG announcement → · BBC News → · Reuters → · Service charge reforms, decoded →
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Closed Process costs consultation closes Not extended. Closed at 11:59pm on 23 September 2026.
Covers the limited exceptions where leaseholders must still contribute to a landlord's legal and valuation costs in an enfranchisement claim, and how much they can be charged.
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Extended Valuation rates consultation extended to 21 October The consultation applies to England and Wales and closes at 11:59pm on 21 October 2026.
Sets the deferment and capitalisation rates that will fix the price of statutory lease extensions, freehold purchases and ground rent buy-outs under the new Standard Valuation Method. Once prescribed, the rates cannot vary by region or by type of leaseholder or freeholder, allow no case-by-case departures, and could stay in use for up to 10 years. For deferment, the options are keeping the 2007 Sportelli rates (4.75% houses, 5% flats), updating them with newer evidence, or a new method. For capitalisation, one rate for all ground rents or separate rates by rent type. A higher rate generally means a lower premium for the leaseholder.
Views can be submitted online → · Our enfranchisement explainer → · LEASE explainer →
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Published A botched RTM notice still costs you money Tribunal holds an RTM company liable for about £1,740 of landlord costs across three notices.
In 295 Anlaby Road, Hull (MAN/00FA/LCP/2025/0001, determined 15 July 2026) the First-tier Tribunal held an RTM company liable for the landlord's reasonable costs under section 88 of the 2002 Act across three claim notices, including two that were invalid.
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PMQs PM commits to the Bill this session At his first PMQs, Andy Burnham committed to bringing the Bill forward this session.
Pressed by Barry Gardiner MP, the Prime Minister committed to bringing the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill forward in this session and to reforming an "unfair" leasehold system affecting an estimated five million households.
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Judgment Procedural slips no longer sink an RTM claim Avon Freeholds v Cresta Court E RTM [2026] UKSC 31: the RTM company wins unanimously.
Failure to give a notice of invitation to participate does not invalidate a claim notice, and non-compliance with sections 78 and 79 cannot be raised in a landlord's counter-notice. The remedy is a discretionary enforcement order under section 107.
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Closed Ground rent exemption consultation closed The "quid pro quo" consultation on exemptions from the £250 cap closed. No response yet.
Asked whether leases where a higher ground rent was specifically agreed in return for a lower premium should be exempt from the £250 cap. Ministers say they are not considering a broad exemption; freeholder groups are pressing for a far wider carve-out.
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Opened Valuation rates and process costs consultations open Two consultations under the 2024 Act, both originally due to close on 23 September 2026.
One on the deferment and capitalisation rates used to price lease extensions, freehold purchases and ground rent buy-outs; the other on when leaseholders must still contribute to a landlord's costs. The valuation rates consultation was later extended to 21 October 2026.
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Published Service charge protections: response published Standardised demands, annual building reports and six-year information rights from 2027.
Confirms how Part 4 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will work: standardised service charge demands, a prescribed annual building report, six-year information rights, insurance and administration charge disclosure, and a reversal of the litigation-costs default. 12 months' notice for private landlords, 24 for social landlords. England only, and none of it is law until at least five statutory instruments are laid.
Our analysis → · Government response → · MHCLG announcement → · Howes Percival →
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Confirmed Government Response to the Committee delayed Due 27 July 2026; the Housing Minister confirmed it would slip past summer recess.
The PM's resignation on 22 June 2026 pushed the formal response to the HCLG Committee's scrutiny report past its 27 July deadline.
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Opened Ground rent exemption consultation opens Eight weeks on whether "quid pro quo" leases should escape the £250 cap.
Asked whether leases where a higher ground rent was specifically agreed in return for a lower premium should be exempt from the cap. It closed at 11:59pm on 27 August 2026.
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Reported Royal Assent now projected for mid-2027 Legal commentators expect Royal Assent by mid-2027, later than earlier estimates.
Legal and property commentators project Royal Assent by mid-2027, later than earlier estimates and in line with the Committee's own recommended timetable. The delayed Government Response since then adds further pressure on that timetable.
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Published Committee scrutiny report lands HCLG Committee calls the draft a "significant step" but wants a 20-year ground rent transition.
The Committee also recommended that the ground rent cap start automatically two months after Royal Assent, and urged ministers to bring its start forward to late 2027.
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Reported Freeholders granted permission to appeal Court of Appeal lets six landowners challenge the 2024 Act on all grounds.
The landowners, including Cadogan and Grosvenor, argue the enfranchisement reforms breach their property rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The appeal must be heard by 23 April 2027; no hearing date is fixed. The government says it will robustly defend it.
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Published Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill published Caps existing ground rents at £250 a year, tapering to peppercorn over 40 years.
Also lowers the threshold for converting a building to commonhold to 50% of qualifying leaseholders.
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Judgment High Court dismisses freeholders' challenge The judicial review of the 2024 Act's enfranchisement measures fails on all grounds.
R (ARC Time Freehold Income Authorised Fund & Ors) v Secretary of State [2025] EWHC 2751 (Admin) found the measures compatible with property rights under the Convention.
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In force Right to manage reforms switched on Mixed-use limit raised from 25% to 50%; no landlord costs on an uncontested RTM claim.
Commencement No. 3 Regulations (SI 2025/131) brought sections 49 to 52 of the 2024 Act into force, including tribunal-first RTM disputes.
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Published Commonhold White Paper published Government commits to commonhold as the default tenure and a ban on new leasehold flats.
The starting point for the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.
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In force Two-year ownership rule abolished Leaseholders can start a lease extension or freehold claim the day they complete.
Section 27 of the 2024 Act, commenced by SI 2025/57.
New explainer Updated 23 September 2026
Enfranchisement, explained: extending your lease or buying your freehold
990-year extensions, no marriage value and no more paying your freeholder's legal bills are all law on paper, but none of it is switched on yet. What works today, what is still waiting, the two rates that will set your price, and whether to extend now or wait.
Read the explainerLegal Watch
Supreme Court: procedural slips no longer sink an RTM claim
27 August 2026 — in Avon Freeholds Ltd v Cresta Court E RTM Company Ltd [2026] UKSC 31 the Supreme Court unanimously allowed the RTM company's appeal, holding that failure to give a notice of invitation to participate does not invalidate a claim notice, and that non-compliance with the procedural rules in sections 78 and 79 cannot be raised by a landlord's counter-notice. The remedy is a discretionary enforcement order under section 107 instead. Read our full analysis → · Full judgment →
A botched RTM notice still costs you money
Published 2 September 2026 — a First-tier Tribunal decision (295 Anlaby Road, Hull, MAN/00FA/LCP/2025/0001, determined 15 July 2026) held an RTM company liable for the landlord's reasonable costs under section 88 of the 2002 Act across three claim notices, including two that were invalid, totalling roughly £1,740. A useful counterpoint to Cresta Court: procedural slips no longer sink a claim, but they can still be billed for. Decision on gov.uk →
Freeholders' appeal granted leave — hearing due by 23 April 2027
Major freeholders' human-rights challenge to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 has been granted leave to appeal. No hearing date is fixed yet, but the Court of Appeal has set a deadline of 23 April 2027 for the appeal to be heard. An adverse ruling could affect the ground-rent-cap and enfranchisement provisions carried into the new Bill. Read more →
Start with the basics
Everything you need, in plain English
No legal jargon, no 40-page consultation documents. Just what's changing and what it means for you.
The core explainer
Commonhold vs leasehold: what's actually different
Leasehold makes you a tenant of your own home for 99-999 years. Commonhold makes you an outright owner, with a direct say in how the building is run. Here's the difference in practice — service charges, freeholders, and who actually controls the roof over your head.
Read the explainerExplainer · New
Enfranchisement, explained
Extending your lease or buying your freehold: what works today, what the 2024 Act will change, and whether to extend now or wait.
ReadAnalysis
The one exemption that could keep your ground rent above £250
The "quid pro quo" consultation closed on 27 August 2026. Who qualifies, what evidence a freeholder would need, and why the 40-year peppercorn backstop matters.
ReadLegal analysis
The Supreme Court just disarmed the landlord's favourite RTM defence
A missed participation notice no longer sinks a right to manage claim — and landlords can't raise procedural slips in a counter-notice at all. [2026] UKSC 31, decoded.
ReadAnalysis
The service charge transparency reforms, decoded
Standardised demands, annual building reports and six-year information rights from 2027 — what the 15 July response actually decided.
ReadExplainer
What is commonhold, really?
The tenure the government wants everyone on by the 2030s — explained from first principles.
ReadFAQ
Will my flat convert automatically?
No. Here's the 50% consent threshold, who has to agree, and how the process actually starts.
ReadExplainer
The ground rent cap, explained
£250 now, peppercorn later. What the transition period actually means for your annual bill — and the one exemption that could leave your lease outside it.
ReadReference
The commonhold glossary
Freeholder, forfeiture, RTM, RMC, qualifying leaseholder — every term, defined once and for all.
ReadThe conversation
What people are actually saying about commonhold
Real posts from X — MPs, campaigners, journalists and leaseholders reacting to the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. Pulled from Manage.Management's live feed, curated as evidence, not verified fact.
Live from X
These are a hand-picked snapshot of 12 posts. Manage.Management now runs a dedicated, auto-updating commonhold filter on the full feed — this link opens it pre-filtered.