Three major pieces of legislation since 2022. Ground rents gone on new leases. Lease extension rights being strengthened. Service charge transparency increasing. What is in force, what is awaiting commencement, and what it means for leaseholders and landlords.
Block Management →Key facts at a glance
⚠ This page is reviewed quarterly. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is being commenced in stages via commencement orders. Status flags reflect the position at the time of last review. Verify current commencement status on GOV.UK before relying on any specific provision.
English leasehold law is being reformed at a pace not seen in decades. Three major pieces of legislation have been enacted since 2022. The direction of travel is clear: ground rents restricted, lease extension rights strengthened, service charge transparency increased, and the position of leaseholders relative to freeholders substantially improved.
This hub page sets out the key changes from 2022 to the present, what is in force, what is awaiting commencement, and what it means for leaseholders, landlords, and directors of residential blocks. It links to detailed guides for topics that require fuller treatment. We update this page quarterly — if you are making a decision that depends on the current status of any provision, verify the position on GOV.UK before acting.
| Legislation / provision | Key change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ground Rent Act 2022 | Ground rents on new regulated leases capped at peppercorn. Applies from 30 June 2022. | In force |
| Building Safety Act 2022 | New regime for higher-risk buildings. Remediation obligations. Leaseholder protections on building safety costs. | In force |
| LFRA 2024 — new leasehold houses ban | Prohibition on granting new residential long leases on houses. | In force |
| LFRA 2024 — lease extension & enfranchisement reforms | 990-year extensions, reduced premium calculation, marriage value abolished, 50% non-residential limit removed. | Awaiting commencement |
| LFRA 2024 — service charge transparency | New transparency requirements for service charge demands and accounts. | Awaiting commencement |
| LFRA 2024 — building safety cost protections | New rules limiting recovery of building safety remediation costs from leaseholders. | Partially in force |
| LFRA 2024 — administration charges | Reforms to administration charges for consent applications and information requests. | Awaiting commencement |
| Renters' Rights Act 2025 | Abolition of Section 21, periodic tenancies, new rent increase process. | Awaiting commencement |
Status flags reflect the position at time of drafting. Verify current commencement status on GOV.UK before relying on any specific LFRA 2024 provision.
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 prohibits landlords from charging a ground rent above a peppercorn (effectively zero) on new regulated leases — long residential leases granted for a term of more than 21 years. Any landlord granting a new long residential lease on or after 30 June 2022 must ensure the ground rent is limited to a peppercorn. A lease that provides for a ground rent above a peppercorn is a prohibited rent. The fine is up to £30,000 per lease.
New regulated leases granted on or after 30 June 2022. Does not apply to existing leases — ground rent under leases granted before that date continues unchanged.
Leaseholders with leases granted before 30 June 2022 are not affected. Their ground rent obligations remain as set out in their existing lease. Reform of existing ground rents remains politically active but has not yet been resolved by legislation.
Pre-2022 leases may carry ground rent obligations that must be collected. Post-2022 leases must have peppercorn rents. The two positions need to be tracked separately — a portfolio-wide approach will produce errors.
The most substantial reform of leasehold law in England since the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. Provisions are being commenced in stages — some are in force, others require further commencement orders before they take effect.
| Provision | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ban on new leasehold houses | Prohibits the grant of new long residential leases on houses. New residential houses must be sold freehold. | In force |
| 990-year lease extensions | Increases the statutory lease extension term to 990 years (from 90 years for flats and 50 years for houses), at a peppercorn ground rent. | Awaiting commencement |
| Reduced enfranchisement premiums | Changes the calculation of premiums for lease extensions and collective enfranchisement to reduce the cost for leaseholders. | Awaiting commencement |
| Marriage value abolished | Removes marriage value from the premium calculation for lease extensions and enfranchisement, benefiting leaseholders with shorter leases. | Awaiting commencement |
| 50% non-residential limit removed | Removes the current 25% non-residential floor area limit on collective enfranchisement, allowing more mixed-use buildings to qualify. | Awaiting commencement |
| Service charge transparency | New requirements for the content and format of service charge demands and annual accounts. Improved leaseholder access to information. | Awaiting commencement |
| Building safety cost protections | Provisions limiting the extent to which building safety remediation costs can be recovered from leaseholders. Works with BSA 2022 protections. | Partially in force |
| Administration charges | Reforms to administration charges payable by leaseholders, including for consent applications and information requests. | Awaiting commencement |
| Breach | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Deposit not protected within 30 days | Court order to protect deposit or repay it. Penalty of 1–3× deposit amount. Payable to tenant. |
| Prescribed information not served within 30 days | Same penalty as failure to protect: 1–3× deposit. These are separate breaches, each attracting a separate penalty. |
| Prescribed information incomplete or incorrect | Treated as failure to serve. Same penalties apply. |
| Deposit not re-protected on renewal of fixed term | Non-compliance from renewal date. Tenant can apply to court for penalty in respect of renewal period. |
| Section 21 notice served while deposit unprotected | Notice invalid. Possession proceedings cannot proceed. |
| Deposit not returned within required timeframe at tenancy end | Tenant can raise dispute. Adjudicator determines deductions. Scheme enforces return. |
The penalty is 1 to 3 times the deposit — the court decides the multiplier. The court considers the landlord's conduct, whether there was deliberate non-compliance, and how quickly the landlord remedied the breach. The minimum penalty is one times the deposit — on a £2,000 deposit in a typical rental property, that is £2,000. Protecting late after being challenged is a different position from never protecting at all — but both face a penalty.
Our landlord compliance management service handles deposit protection, prescribed information, and renewal compliance as standard. Available nationwide for landlords who want the compliance handled correctly without having to track it themselves.
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