What the 2026 leasehold reforms actually mean for your block

Most of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is not yet in force. What is already law is the end of the two year wait before extending a lease, a wider right to manage for mixed use blocks and lower costs for right to manage claims. New service charge transparency rules are confirmed for England from 2027, and the £250 ground rent cap is still only a proposal.

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 some of what has actually changed is being missed. This is an account of where things stand in October 2026: what is law now, what has been confirmed but not yet commenced, and what remains a proposal.

Which parts of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 are in force?

Only a small number. The Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, but most of it needs commencement regulations under section 124 before it takes effect, and few have been made.

Section 27 came into force on 31 January 2025. It removed the two year ownership requirement, so a leaseholder can now claim a lease extension, or the owner of a leasehold house can buy the freehold, from the day they complete their purchase.

Sections 49 and 50 came into force on 3 March 2025. Section 49 raised the non-residential limit for the right to manage from 25% to 50% of internal floor space, so a block can now qualify even if up to half of it is commercial. Section 50 changed the default on costs: a right to manage company is generally no longer liable for the landlord’s costs of dealing with its claim. At the same time, section 64 stopped landlords recovering their non-litigation costs of a right to manage claim through the service charge.

The higher threshold 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.

The Act’s amendments to the building safety remediation regime in the Building Safety Act 2022 also came into force in 2024. These matter mainly to blocks with historic safety defects such as unsafe cladding.

What has been confirmed but not yet commenced?

The largest confirmed change is service charge transparency. In its July 2026 response to the consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services, the government confirmed standardised service charge demand forms, a mandatory annual report on the building, standardised service charge accounts and wider rights to request information. It also confirmed it will remove the presumption that leaseholders pay their landlord’s litigation costs through the service charge. These changes are due to take effect in England in stages from 2027, and landlords will get at least twelve months’ notice of the prescribed forms.

The valuation reforms are in the 2024 Act but are not in force. They include the abolition of marriage value and a standard 990 year lease extension. The High Court dismissed a challenge to them by a group of freeholders in October 2025, but the Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal on 1 April 2026, and a hearing is expected in late 2026 or early 2027. The government has also said it will correct flaws in the Act through its next bill. Until the reforms are commenced, the existing valuation rules apply, including marriage value on leases with less than eighty years to run.

The government has also consulted on mandatory professional qualifications for managing agents. For an industry with no licensing requirement at all, that would be a significant change, but nothing is yet in force.

What is still only proposed?

The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published on 27 January 2026 and confirmed in the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026. It proposes capping ground rent on existing leases at £250 a year, falling to a peppercorn after forty years, making commonhold the default tenure for new flats and abolishing forfeiture of residential leases.

None of this is law. The final bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament in the 2026 to 2027 session, the ground rent cap has been indicated for around late 2028, and the detail may change substantially before then.

What this means for your block

If you have been putting off a lease extension because of the old two year rule, that obstacle has gone. If your lease is approaching eighty years, waiting for the valuation reforms carries a real risk, because marriage value still applies below that point and there is no commencement date. That is a decision to take advice on.

If your building has commercial space at ground level and you have previously been told the right to manage was unavailable, it is worth checking again. Leaseholders who do take over management usually do so through a company, and our guide to what a residents’ management company director is responsible for explains what that involves.

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. Our guide to reading a service charge statement properly is a good place to start.

Frequently asked questions

Has marriage value been abolished?

Not yet. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 abolishes it, but that provision has not been commenced and there is no confirmed date. Marriage value is still payable on lease extensions where the lease has less than eighty years to run.

Can I extend my lease straight after buying a flat?

Yes. Since 31 January 2025, when section 27 of the Act came into force, there is no longer a requirement to have owned the flat for two years before making a statutory lease extension claim.

When will the £250 ground rent cap start?

It is not law. The cap is proposed in the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, which still has to pass through Parliament. The government has indicated a start date of around late 2028.

Do these reforms apply in Wales?

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 applies in England and Wales, so the changes already in force apply in both. The 2027 timetable for the service charge transparency rules has been confirmed for England only.

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