What the 2026 leasehold reforms actually mean for your block

Leasehold reform has been announced so many times, and implemented so slowly, that most leaseholders have stopped following it. That is understandable, but it means a good deal of what has actually changed is being missed.

This is an account of where things stand: what is already law and affecting your building now, what has been published but not yet commenced, and what remains a proposal that may or may not survive.

What is already in force

Two changes took effect during 2025 and are worth knowing about because they are immediately usable. The two-year ownership requirement before extending a lease or buying a share of the freehold has gone; you can now apply from the day you complete. And the right to manage threshold has moved, so buildings with up to half their floor space in commercial use now qualify, where the limit used to be a quarter.

That second change matters more than it sounds. A great many London blocks sit above shops, and were previously shut out of taking over management of their own building.

What has been confirmed but not yet arrived

The government has committed to a set of service charge transparency measures: a standardised demand form, an annual report to leaseholders, and strengthened rights to request information. Most of this is expected to take effect from 2027 rather than now.

There is also a stated intention to regulate managing agents more tightly, including a consultation on mandatory professional qualifications. For an industry with no licensing requirement at all, that would be a significant change.

What is still only proposed

A Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill has been announced for the current parliamentary session, and a draft was published in January. It contains a proposed ground rent cap and a longer-term move towards commonhold for new flats. None of this is law, and the detail may change substantially before it is.

What to do about it

Little, in most cases, beyond knowing where you stand. If you have been putting off a lease extension because of the old ownership rule, that obstacle has gone. If your building has commercial space at ground level and you have previously been told right to manage was unavailable, it is worth checking again.

Beyond that, the transparency measures are coming whether or not your managing agent is ready for them. A reasonable question to ask now is whether your service charge accounts would survive being read carefully — because before long, more people will be reading them.

This article describes the position as at September 2026 and is general information rather than legal advice. Anyone making a decision about their own lease should take proper advice on it.