Govt under pressure to deliver leasehold bill by autumn after missed deadline
The government has been asked to commit to publishing the final Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill by autumn after failing to respond to a report on the draft bill.
Housing Secretary Matthew Pennycook wrote to the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee, saying the government would be unable to respond to its report by the 27 July deadline due to Keir Starmer’s resignation as Prime Minister.
The report, published in May, said the government’s proposed legislation would give leaseholders more control over their homes but said reforms needed to happen faster and go further.
Pennycook said his department would “regrettably” fail to respond to the report before summer recess, which runs from 17 July to 31 August. However, he said the government remained “acutely aware of the need to act urgently to provide relief to leaseholders and homeowners on freehold estates currently suffering as a result of unfair and unreasonable practices and remains committed to honouring its manifesto commitments in full”.
He said the new administration would decide on a date for the government’s response and he hoped this would be provided soon after summer recess, “with a substantive bill introduced to Parliament soon after”.
Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the HCLG Committee, said: “Millions of leaseholders have been waiting for too long for successive governments to tackle the unfair leasehold system, cap ground rents, and put homeowners in control of the management of their buildings.
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“It is disappointing that the government has told us it will not be able to respond to our pre-legislative report by the 27 July deadline. I urge the incoming Prime Minister to make an early commitment to bringing forward the revised legislation needed to deliver justice for leaseholders as soon as possible after the summer recess.”
She added: “Three successive governments have secured electoral mandates to address ground rents in existing leases. MPs from all sides spoke in a House of Commons debate recently to stress the importance of urgent action on leasehold reform.
“The government should commit to introducing the final bill in autumn 2026 so this will be the Parliament [that] finally tackles the long-standing inequities of leasehold.”
