Leasehold reform: what has changed and what is still coming

Leasehold reform in England and Wales is happening in stages. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, according to the House of Commons Library in September 2026, but the majority of its provisions are not yet in force. A draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published in January 2026 and is expected to be introduced to Parliament in autumn 2026.

What the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 covers

The Act applies to England and Wales, the House of Commons Library confirmed in September 2026. It implements recommendations from the Law Commission's 2020 reports and commitments from the 2017 housing white paper. The legislation sets out a range of measures designed to strengthen leaseholders' rights and improve transparency.

The Act will make it cheaper and easier for leaseholders to extend their lease or buy their freehold by removing the requirement to pay marriage value, according to the House of Commons Library in September 2026. It increases the standard lease extension term to 990 years with ground rent reduced to a peppercorn, which has zero financial value. The Act also bans the granting of most new leasehold houses, with some exceptions.

Which provisions are already in force?

Some parts of the Act have already been commenced through secondary legislation. Regulations came into force on 31 January 2025 to remove the two year qualifying period, the House of Commons Library reported in September 2026. This means leaseholders can now extend their lease or buy their freehold without having to wait for two years after purchasing their property.

Right to manage provisions came into force on 3 March 2025, according to commencement regulations published in February 2025. These changes give more leaseholders the right to take over management of their building by increasing the non-residential limit from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. The regulations also removed the requirement for leaseholders to cover the freeholder's legal fees when making a right to manage claim.

Building safety provisions came into force on 31 October 2024, legislation.gov.uk confirmed in October 2024. These extend measures in the Building Safety Act 2022 to clarify leaseholder protections.

What is waiting for secondary legislation?

Many of the Act's provisions require further consultation and secondary legislation before they can be commenced. The government published a response on 15 July 2026 confirming it will implement measures to increase transparency of service charges, reform the litigation costs regime and introduce a transparent permitted building insurance payment, the House of Commons Library reported in September 2026. Secondary legislation will be laid in Parliament in 2026, with reforms being implemented as soon as possible from 2027.

The Act sets a standard method for calculating the cost of a statutory lease extension or freehold acquisition. Marriage value will no longer form part of the calculations, the House of Commons Library stated in September 2026. The Act provides new powers for the Secretary of State to prescribe the deferment and capitalisation rates to be used in the calculations. A consultation on the applicable rates closed on 23 September 2026, and the rates will then need to be set out in secondary legislation.

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There are technical flaws in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 that will need to be rectified before the provisions on purchasing a freehold or extending a lease can be implemented, the House of Commons Library noted in September 2026. The government intends to make these changes through the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.

The rates consultation was initially delayed due to legal challenges from groups of freeholders. The High Court dismissed the legal challenges on 24 October 2025, the House of Commons Library reported in September 2026. The Court of Appeal has subsequently given permission to five groups of freeholders to appeal the decision.

What does the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill propose?

The King's Speech in July 2026 announced that the government will bring forward a Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill in the 2026-27 parliamentary session, according to the House of Commons Library in September 2026. The bill applies to England and Wales. A draft version was published on 27 January 2026 for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.

The draft bill proposes to cap ground rents at £250 a year, falling to a peppercorn after 40 years, with the cap likely to come into force in late 2028, subject to parliamentary approval, the House of Commons Library stated in September 2026. The government is consulting on whether certain leases should be exempt from the proposed cap. The consultation closes on 27 August 2026.

The government estimated in January 2026 that there are approximately 3.8 million leasehold properties with a ground rent obligation across England and Wales. Around 770,000 to 900,000 leaseholders pay over £250 per year, of which 490,000 to 590,000 are in London and the South, according to a policy statement published in January 2026. The government estimates leaseholders will save a total of between £10 billion and £12.7 billion over the full lifetime of leases.

The draft bill would also abolish the threat of forfeiture, replacing it with a fairer and more proportionate lease enforcement scheme, the House of Commons Library reported in September 2026. It would repeal disproportionate enforcement powers under the Law of Property Act 1925 that apply to estate rentcharges on private freehold estates.

What are the proposals for commonhold?

The draft bill would reinvigorate commonhold through the introduction of a comprehensive new legal framework based on the vast majority of the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2020 report, the House of Commons Library stated in September 2026. It would enable commonhold to be used in the widest possible range of settings.

The bill proposes to ban the use of leasehold for most new flats to make commonhold the default tenure. The government has consulted on its proposals, including the scope and timing of the ban and any exemptions, the House of Commons Library reported in September 2026. The consultation closed on 24 April 2026 and the government is analysing the feedback.

The draft bill also includes measures to make it easier for existing leaseholders to convert their buildings to commonhold. The existing law requires consent from everyone with an interest in the block, which sets an unacceptably high bar, according to a written statement published in January 2026. The draft bill would introduce a new process for conversion that will make it possible if at least 50 per cent of qualifying leaseholders agree.

What did the Select Committee recommend?

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee published its pre-legislative scrutiny report on 27 May 2026. The committee found that the government's draft bill is a significant step towards giving leaseholders greater control of their buildings, but concluded that the government must go further and faster on commonhold and leasehold reform, the House of Commons Library reported in September 2026.

The committee recommended that the government should introduce the final bill in autumn 2026 and schedule Second Reading before the November recess. It also recommended that the government should aim to ensure the final bill receives Royal Assent in mid-2027, so that some of the provisions, such as the cap on ground rent, can come into force in late 2027, according to the committee's report published in May 2026.

The committee also recommended that the government should consider whether ground rents should fall to a peppercorn within a shorter transitional period, such as 20 years, rather than the proposed 40 years, the House of Commons Library reported in September 2026.

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How does this affect Wales?

The majority of the provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 apply to Wales, the House of Commons Library confirmed in September 2026. The Welsh Government will introduce subordinate legislation to implement the Act. The Welsh Government published a written statement on 7 March 2025 providing an update on the phased implementation of the Act.

The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill would also apply to England and Wales. The Welsh Government published a written statement on 30 January 2026 welcoming the UK Government's draft bill and its proposed changes, including the cap on ground rent and reforms to commonhold.

What should leaseholders and buyers know?

Some leaseholders already benefit from the provisions that are in force. Those who bought a leasehold property recently no longer need to wait two years before extending their lease or buying their freehold. Leaseholders in buildings with up to 50 per cent non-residential space can now take over management of their building through the right to manage process, and they do not need to pay the freeholder's legal fees when making a claim.

For other provisions, including the new valuation method for lease extensions and freehold purchases, leaseholders will need to wait until secondary legislation is passed and the provisions are commenced. The government has not yet set a firm date for when these provisions will come into force. Anyone considering a lease extension or freehold purchase may wish to speak to a qualified legal professional about whether to proceed now under the existing rules or wait for the new provisions.

The proposed ground rent cap would not come into force until late 2028 at the earliest, subject to parliamentary approval. The cap would apply to most long residential leases not already covered by existing legislation. If a lease currently has a ground rent under £250, it would remain at that amount and could not be increased above £250. If a ground rent is over £250, it would see an immediate reduction to £250 when the measures are brought into force, according to a government policy statement published in January 2026.