If you’re a leaseholder, new measures could mean you receive more information about your service charge, as well as greater protection from unfair, hidden costs.
Today, the government has taken the next steps in delivering a fairer leasehold system, resulting in more transparency over charges and an easier process to extend your lease or buy your freehold.
Here's what today's announcement means for leaseholders.
âť“ Why are these changes being made?
We know that many leaseholders find it difficult to understand the charges they pay, access information about their building or challenge costs they believe are unfair.
That’s why we’re introducing new protections to make sure information is more readily available, increase transparency about how money is being spent and give leaseholders greater confidence that costs are being charged fairly.
đź’· Will I get more information about my service charges?
Yes.
Under the new rules, landlords will have to provide leaseholders with clearer and more detailed information about charges, spending and relevant building insurance arrangements.
This includes:
- A new standardised service charge form, setting out the charges and what they pay for.
- An annual report explaining the condition of the building and any major works that may be planned.
- Greater access to important documents and information about their building, such as building insurance details, fire safety information and maintenance invoices.
The aim is to help leaseholders better understand where their money is going and hold landlords to account where necessary.
⚖️ What happens if I dispute my service charge?
The government is strengthening protections for leaseholders in disputes, such as over service charge costs.
New rules will help prevent leaseholders from having to pay their landlord's legal costs without scrutiny. And for the first time, leaseholders will also be able to apply to recover their own fees.
With more information readily available, our aim is to reduce the number of disputes altogether. But where conflicts do arise, we’re making the process easier and ensuring costly legal fees don’t automatically fall to leaseholders.
🏡 What's changing if I want to extend my lease or buy my freehold?
The government has launched two consultations that will help deliver wider reforms designed to make lease extensions and freehold purchases cheaper and easier.
The consultations dive deeper into the following plans:
- Setting key valuation rates in regulations, giving leaseholders more certainty about how much they will pay.
- Protecting leaseholders from covering their landlord's solicitor, valuer or administration costs when going through the process.
These changes will help reduce disputes, make costs more predictable and help more people secure their home for the long term.
🔍 What are valuation rates?
Valuation rates are part of the calculation used to determine how much a leaseholder pays when extending a lease or buying a freehold.
Currently, they’re often determined through tribunal decisions or negotiated by professionals – making it hard to understand how much you might need to pay.
That’s why we’re consulting on standardising these rates, which would reduce the need for lengthy negotiations or disputes and provide greater certainty about costs.
⏰ When will these changes happen?
We recognise just how urgently leaseholders need to experience these changes.
We’ll move as quickly as possible to implement our reforms, and will set out an updated timeline in due course.
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