The UK government is laying five sets of regulations that will give more than three million leaseholders in England stronger rights to inspect, understand and challenge service charges.
The measures put parts of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 into operation. From 1 April 2027, leaseholders will be able to demand information about how their building is managed, maintained, repaired and insured, including information from earlier years. A landlord will need a good reason to refuse.
The same commencement date brings a significant change to litigation costs. Landlords will need approval from a court or tribunal before passing their legal expenses to leaseholders who challenge a charge. Leaseholders will also acquire a route to recover their own legal costs. A further set of regulations, due before the end of 2026, will supply more detail for those reforms.
Reporting duties will follow in stages. From 1 November 2027, private landlords will have to use standardised service-charge demands and provide financial accounts and annual reports. Leaseholders will also receive clearer information about building insurance and administrative fees, with protections against excessive insurance-arrangement charges.
Councils and housing associations receive an additional year to introduce the standardised demands, accounts and reports. Their equivalent duties begin on 1 November 2028, reflecting the government’s assessment that social landlords need longer to adapt complex accounting systems.
The regulations are being laid on 12 November 2026 and remain subject to parliamentary approval. They do not replace the government’s proposed Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, which is expected before Christmas and is intended to make commonhold the default for most new flats, cap existing ground rents at £250 and replace the present forfeiture regime.
Official government announcement
