More than three million leaseholders in England are set to receive stronger tools for challenging service charges, the UK government has announced. According to the government, the first protections begin on 1 April 2027, and five sets of regulations go before Parliament on 12 November 2026 to bring them in.
First changes: April 2027
From 1 April 2027, leaseholders will be able to demand details of what they pay for, covering how their building is managed, maintained, repaired and insured, the government said. Information from earlier years can also be requested, and a landlord refusing would need a good reason.
On the same date, the rules on legal bills change. A landlord will need approval from a court or tribunal before passing legal costs to a leaseholder who disputes a charge. Leaseholders will also gain the right to recover their own legal expenses. The government described the current position as a major barrier to contesting costs.
Later phases
From 1 November 2027, leaseholders will automatically receive clearer information on their charges, whether the building belongs to a private landlord, a council or a housing association. The government said this includes detailed building insurance information, stronger safeguards against excessive fees for arranging and managing that insurance, and clearly presented details of admin fees. Private landlords will additionally have to use simpler standardised demand forms and supply financial accounts and annual reports.
Councils and housing associations must provide the same forms, accounts and reports from 1 November 2028. The government said they receive an extra 12 months because their accounting and service charge systems are more complex. It said the phasing aims to get protections to leaseholders quickly while giving landlords time to adjust their billing and accounting.
A sixth set of regulations, setting out further detail on how the litigation cost reforms will work, is to be laid before the end of 2026 and will start on 1 April 2027. The government said the other regulations are subject to Parliamentary approval.
Wider reform
The measures put into effect parts of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The government said a Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill is due in Parliament before Christmas 2026. It would make a revised commonhold model the default for most new flats, ease moves from leasehold to commonhold, limit existing ground rents to £250, and swap the present forfeiture system for a fairer enforcement approach.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said it was "simply wrong that millions of leaseholders can be hit with unfair charges, then face another bill just for challenging them." Kion Ahadi, chief executive of the Leasehold Advisory Service, said such charges are the issue leaseholders raise with the service most often, and welcomed the changes as an important step forward.
