TL;DR
- The housing ministry says five sets of regulations are due to be laid on 12 November, giving more than three million leaseholders in England stronger service-charge rights from 1 April 2027 (GOV.UK).
- Landlords will need court or tribunal approval before passing on legal costs, but only for proceedings issued from 1 April 2027, under the 25 October commencement order (GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk).
- Standard demand forms, accounts and annual reports follow for private landlords on 1 November 2027 and for councils and housing associations on 1 November 2028 (legislation.gov.uk).
What did the government put before Parliament?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said on 11 November that five sets of regulations would be laid in Parliament the next day (GOV.UK). LBC and London Construction Magazine reported the plan the same day (LBC, London Construction Magazine); LBC wrote that the measures were to be introduced in Parliament on Thursday. They fill in the detail of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on service charges, information rights, building insurance and landlords' legal costs. MHCLG puts the number of leaseholders affected at more than three million in England.
This is the second step, not the first. The government set out a package of at least five instruments in July (GOV.UK). A separate commencement order, signed on 25 October, switched on the power to make the detailed rules from 6 November (legislation.gov.uk). Prince Surveyors, a London firm, wrote that day that this was "a legal starting gun, not a finish line" (Prince Surveyors).
The release does not give the titles or numbers of the five instruments, and it says only that they are subject to Parliamentary approval. In July the government said at least two of the five would use the affirmative procedure, which means a vote in Parliament (GOV.UK).
When do the new rights start?
The rules arrive in phases. The commencement order, SI 2026/1128, made on 25 October, fixes the dates in law (legislation.gov.uk). The law firm CMS describes the 6 November step as powers only, with no new obligations on landlords yet (CMS).
- From 1 April 2027, leaseholders can ask for service-charge information, including from earlier years, and landlords need a good reason to refuse (GOV.UK). CMS adds a prescribed notice for costs not demanded within 18 months, fixed service charges brought into the statutory regime and the new litigation-costs rules (CMS).
- From 1 November 2027, leaseholders get clearer charge and insurance information, and private landlords must use standard demand forms and issue accounts and annual reports (GOV.UK). According to CMS, the same date brings a ban on recovering excluded insurance costs through the service charge, insurance information for leaseholders and a duty to publish an administration charge schedule (CMS).
- From 1 November 2028, councils and housing associations follow on the forms, accounts and reports (GOV.UK). CMS lists only the demands, accounts and annual reports for social landlords (CMS).
Social landlords get an extra 12 months because of the complexity of their accounting and service-charge systems, MHCLG says. Menzies LLP, an accountancy firm that reviews service charges for housing associations, reads that as recognition of "the scale of the operational and systems changes that may be required" (Menzies).
Key dates, from the commencement order to the last phase
Tap a date to read more.
25 October 2026Commencement order SI 2026/1128 made
The order brings the reforms into force in stages, as set out on legislation.gov.uk and described by CMS.
6 November 2026Powers only
The government gains the power to make the detailed regulations. CMS says no new obligations apply to landlords yet.
12 November 2026Five sets of regulations due to be laid
MHCLG said on 11 November that the five sets would be laid in Parliament the next day, subject to Parliamentary approval.
1 April 2027Information rights and legal-costs rules
Leaseholders can ask for service-charge information, including from earlier years, and landlords need a good reason to refuse. A prescribed notice covers costs not demanded within 18 months, fixed service charges enter the statutory regime, and landlords need court or tribunal approval to pass on legal costs in proceedings issued from this date.
1 November 2027Main duties for private landlords
Private landlords must use standard demand forms and issue accounts and annual reports. CMS adds a ban on recovering excluded insurance costs through the service charge, insurance information for leaseholders and a published administration charge schedule.
1 November 2028Councils and housing associations follow
Social landlords follow on demands, accounts and annual reports, with an extra 12 months because of the complexity of their accounting and service-charge systems.
Click a date to see what starts then; the dates are fixed in law by the 25 October commencement order (legislation.gov.uk).
Why is the legal-costs change the one landlords will watch?
Because it removes a deterrent. MHCLG says landlords will need court or tribunal approval to pass on legal costs, and leaseholders gain a right to claw back their own. The ministry describes the old position as a power that put leaseholders off challenging charges, since they could be billed whether they won or lost (GOV.UK).
| Area | For leaseholders | For landlords |
|---|---|---|
| Information | Can ask for service-charge information, including from earlier years, from 1 April 2027 | Need a good reason to refuse |
| Legal costs | Gain a right to claw back their own costs | Need court or tribunal approval to pass legal costs on |
| Forms, accounts and reports | Clearer charge and insurance information from 1 November 2027 | Private landlords use standard demand forms and issue accounts and annual reports from 1 November 2027; councils and housing associations from 1 November 2028 |
The table summarises the ministry's description of the package (GOV.UK).
The timing is narrow. The commencement order says the new costs rules do not apply to proceedings issued before 1 April 2027 (legislation.gov.uk). Prince Surveyors draws the same line for leaseholders already in a dispute (Prince Surveyors). The government has also said a sixth set of regulations on how the litigation-cost reforms work will be laid before the end of 2026, commencing on 1 April 2027 (GOV.UK).
Kion Ahadi, chief executive of the Leasehold Advisory Service, said service charges "are the most common issue leaseholders contact us about" (GOV.UK). He told LBC: "We welcome these changes as an important step forward in helping people understand what they are paying for and challenge costs they believe are unfair" (LBC).
What are advisers telling owners and managers?
Preparation, mostly on paper. Prince Surveyors advises leaseholders to keep every demand, budget and set of accounts, because the information right widens on 1 April 2027 (Prince Surveyors).
For landlords, advisers point to accounts and finance systems (Menzies, Prince Surveyors). In July the government said accounts will be signed off by qualified professionals, with the reporting standard ISRS 4400 as the default (GOV.UK). Menzies says it reviews charges for about 100,000 residents a year, so it has work in this field (Menzies).
What comes next?
A Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill is due in Parliament before Christmas 2026, MHCLG says. It would make commonhold, a form of ownership without a third-party freeholder, the default for most new flats, and cap existing ground rents at £250 (GOV.UK). Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "Today's changes are only the beginning" (GOV.UK).
Why it matters
Our view: the regulations turn a political promise into a dated compliance calendar. From the planned laying on 12 November to 1 April 2027 is under five months, and the first right to land, the information request, reaches back over earlier years (GOV.UK). More than three million leaseholders in England stand to gain that right.
Two scenarios, neither a forecast. If Parliament approves the five sets as laid, then landlords and managing agents have until 1 April 2027 to be ready for information requests and costs approval. If a set is not approved, then the rights and duties it carries do not start on the dates MHCLG gave, and the 1 April 2027 start would be the one to watch (GOV.UK).
FAQ
What is a service charge?
It is the money leaseholders pay towards running their building. MHCLG describes service-charge information as showing how a building is managed, maintained, repaired and insured (GOV.UK).
Do the rules apply across the UK?
No. The 25 October commencement order applies to England only (legislation.gov.uk).
Do the legal-costs rules change cases already in court?
Not those issued before 1 April 2027, the 25 October order says, which stay under the old rules (legislation.gov.uk).
If you own or manage a leasehold block, is your team ready for the first information request in April 2027?
