general
Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024: what has changed and what is still to come
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 explained: what is already in force, what is still to come, the ground rent cap position and commonhold.
- 4 min read
- Last reviewed 4 November 2026
- By Your Property Check team
Key answer
Part 1 of 7
Status at 4 November 2026
General information, not advice. Commencement is staged, so the position changes. Everything below was read on GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk on 4 November 2026, and it is the last-checked position rather than a live feed. Check the GOV.UK leasehold toolkit before you rely on a date.
Part 2 of 7
What is already in force
| Measure | Status | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two-year qualifying period for a lease extension or freehold purchase removed | In force | 31 January 2025 | legislation.gov.uk (SI 2025/57) |
| Right to manage: non-residential limit raised from 25% to 50%, and leaseholders in most cases no longer pay the freeholder's legal costs of a claim | In force | 3 March 2025 | GOV.UK toolkit, SI 2025/131 |
| Building safety changes, including recovery of some costs of interim measures and expert reports | In force | July 2024 | GOV.UK toolkit |
| Long leases of over 21 years no longer count as assured tenancies, whatever the ground rent | In force | 27 December 2025 | GOV.UK toolkit |
In practice, GOV.UK says that claims for a lease extension or freehold purchase can now start immediately after buying a home. Before the change, a leaseholder needed to have owned the lease for a qualifying period.
Part 3 of 7
What is still to come
The toolkit lists these as not yet in force, and gives no dates:
| Measure | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency measures: standardised service charge demand forms, annual reporting and enhanced information rights | Government says it will bring in as quickly as possible | GOV.UK toolkit |
| Rules against unfair or hidden commission fees, and changes to litigation costs | Still to come | GOV.UK toolkit |
| Ban on new leasehold houses | Still to come | GOV.UK toolkit |
| Amended enfranchisement reforms (freehold purchase and lease extension) | Need technical flaws in the Act fixed through new primary legislation first | GOV.UK toolkit |
| Valuation rates for freehold purchases, lease extensions and ground rent buyouts | A 2026 consultation | GOV.UK toolkit |
The toolkit does not set out a lease extension price or length, and says only that the reforms will make extensions cheaper and easier, so we do not give figures here. Our guide to ground rent and peppercorn rent explains the terms.
Part 4 of 7
Why the dates matter
Because commencement is staged, a claim started before a measure was in force follows the old rules, and one started after follows the new. GOV.UK's toolkit dates each measure it lists, and the commencement regulations on legislation.gov.uk give the exact day for sections of the Act. When you read a news story about "the leasehold reforms", ask which measure it means, whether it is in the 2024 Act or a later draft Bill, and whether it is in force.
Part 5 of 7
What is the ground rent cap?
This is the point most often misunderstood. GOV.UK says the 250 pound cap is not in the 2024 Act. It comes from the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, published in January 2026, which is still a draft. According to the toolkit, the draft would cap existing ground rents at 250 pounds a year, moving to a peppercorn after 40 years, and the cap is a maximum that does not increase anyone's ground rent. Because it is a draft, it could change before it becomes law.
Part 6 of 7
What is commonhold?
Under commonhold, GOV.UK says owners hold their property outright with no expiry date. A Commonhold Association, made up of all the owners, manages the building, and a Commonhold Community Statement sets the governance rules. There is no freeholder or ground rent, so lease extensions are not needed. The draft Bill would make commonhold the default tenure for new flats, make conversion easier for existing leaseholders and ban leasehold for most new flats. GOV.UK's general leasehold page makes the contrast clear: with leasehold you only own the property for a fixed period, and ownership returns to the landlord when the lease ends.
Part 7 of 7
What it means if you are buying or selling a leasehold home
Check the lease length and the ground rent before you offer: both affect how easy a sale is and whether the lease can be extended. Our guide to checking whether a house is freehold or leasehold shows how. For definitions, see the leasehold and freehold glossary entries. If you plan to extend or buy your freehold, take advice before serving a notice, because the rules and valuation rates are still being reformed.
This page is general information, not advice. The GOV.UK toolkit we read is for England.
Our take
Check the lease before you price the flat
Our view: reform headlines run ahead of the law. Some measures are in force, such as removal of the two-year qualifying period on 31 January 2025, while the 250 pound ground rent cap comes from a draft Bill, not the 2024 Act. The common mistake is pricing a flat on a rule that has not been brought in yet.
What Your Property Check adds: OfferCheck is a plain-English risk report on any UK address before you offer, with tenure among the things it covers alongside crime, flood and planning, every figure sourced. Our free house valuation shows what similar homes sold for nearby.
Our opinion, drawn from the facts on this page: not advice and not a forecast. We earn from OfferCheck reports and from introducing sellers to cash buyers, so weigh it with that in mind (see our disclosure). We are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.
Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
What does the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 do?
What is already in force?
What is the ground rent cap?
What is commonhold?
Is the ban on new leasehold houses in force?
Where this comes from
Sources
- GOV.UK: Leasehold toolkit, England
- legislation.gov.uk: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025
- legislation.gov.uk: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2025
- GOV.UK: Leasehold property
Last reviewed 4 November 2026 by the Your Property Check team. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, speak to a conveyancing solicitor or another qualified professional.