Consultation announced: Strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services

This consultation seeks to bring about proposals to implement aspects of Part 4 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 ('LAFRA') and enact future reform on leasehold charges and services. The consultation closes on 26 September 2025.

LAFRA introduced a variety of measures to further improve home ownership for millions of leaseholders in England and Wales including increasing transparency of service charges and building insurance policies, in addition to dealing with unjustified litigation costs. 

This consultation seeks opinions on how to implement these new requirements and regulations through secondary legislation. This is in the hope that it will help leaseholders to better scrutinise and challenge unfair charges and fees, as well as the reasonableness of the services that they pay for. 

Further, this consultation seeks views on further reform proposals in relation to the charges paid and services received, for both leaseholders and homeowners on freeholder estates. This includes various UK Government commitments to consult on introducing mandatory qualifications for managing agents and plans to reform the section 20 consultation regime. 

Key points being consulted on:

• Enhancing transparency in service charges – Better transparency of service charges, including annual reports, new standardised services charge demand forms, service charge accounts and the introduction of an administration charge schedule.
• Improving clarity around buildings insurance – Reforms to improve building insurance transparency. The consultation seeks views on what specific insurance details should be shared with leaseholders, so they can assess value for money and more easily challenge unreasonable insurance charges.
•  Rebalancing the litigation cost regime – Seeks to rebalance the litigation costs regime.  This includes removing barriers for leaseholders to challenge their landlord, to broadly align with rights landlords currently have to recover their own litigation costs.
• Reforming the section 20 consultation procedure – Consultation seeks views on improvements to the section consultation 20  regime
• Exploring additional leaseholder protections – Consultation seeks views about whether those paying fixed service charges should have further protections. For example, giving them the same right to challenge the reasonableness of their service charge, as enjoyed by those who pay variable service charges. 
• Promoting digital access while ensuring inclusion – Consultation seeks views about the opportunities for greater digitalisation of information provision and other related services. Further, it looks to provide safeguards so all leaseholders can access the information they require. 
• Introducing mandatory qualifications for managing agents – This consultation proposes setting mandatory minimum qualifications for managing agents across England, to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver a good service for leaseholders.

In a Government press release, Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook, stated:

“This bold package of reforms will arm leaseholders with greater rights and protections and empower them to challenge poor practice and unreasonable charges and fees – driving up leaseholder living standards as we work to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end as part of our Plan for Change.” 

The Government press release, the consultation, and the consultation executive summary, can be found below:

GOV.UK - Press release: Millions of leaseholders backed with strengthened rights

GOV.UK - Open Consultation: Strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services: 

GOV.UK - Open Consultation: Strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services: executive summary  

If you would like further information, please contact Mark Foxcroft or Zoe McLean-Wells.