More than three million leaseholders across England will get stronger rights to challenge unfair service charges from 1 April 2027, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced. From that date, leaseholders can demand detailed information about their service charges — including figures from previous years — and landlords will need a good reason to refuse.
The same date brings a separate protection: leaseholders will no longer automatically have to pay their landlord’s legal costs when they challenge a charge, win or lose. Landlords will need court or tribunal approval to pass on legal costs, and leaseholders gain a new right to claim back their own legal expenses.
From 1 November 2027, leaseholders of private landlords, councils and housing associations alike will automatically receive clearer, standardised information on charges — including building-insurance costs and admin fees — with private landlords required to use standardised demand forms and provide financial accounts and annual reports. Councils and housing associations get an extra year to comply, from 1 November 2028, given the complexity of their accounting systems.
Five sets of regulations implementing these changes under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 were laid in Parliament on 12 November 2026. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said the reforms are “only the beginning,” with a Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill — capping ground rents at £250 and making commonhold the default for most new flats — due before Parliament before Christmas 2026.
