However, despite belief that the Act would introduce significant changes to leasehold ownership in England and Wales, progress has stalled. 

In this blog, our specialist Lease Extension Solicitors round up the latest developments on leasehold reform. 

What is the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024? 

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act aims to create a fairer and more secure system of home ownership in England and Wales by strengthening leaseholders’ rights in various ways, including:-  

• Easier and cheaper lease extensions. 

• Increasing a standard lease extension to 990 years. 

• Giving more rights to leaseholders looking to buy their freehold. 

• Making it easier for leaseholders to take over the management of their building.  

• Extending access to redress schemes for leaseholders looking to challenge poor practice. 

• Increasing transparency over service charges. 

• Banning the sale of new leasehold houses.  

Read more about the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 in our previous blog by clicking here. 

Why are there delays to leasehold reform? 

Although it was originally expected that the main provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act would come into force in 2025 and 2026, progress has been delayed, with the government conceding that full implementation will take “years not months”. 

Several obstacles stand in the way of leasehold reform. These include: 

• Secondary legislation. Implementation of the Act requires substantive secondary legislation which will need to be drafted.  

• Judicial review. In January 2025, a group of freeholders were granted permission for a judicial review of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to challenge specific provisions of the Act, including those relating to enfranchisement, lease extensions and the cap on ground rents. This is provisionally set for July 2025. 

• Consultation. The government needs to launch a public consultation on various key parts of the Act and this is still pending.  

What is the timeline for leasehold reform? 

Progress on the implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act has been slow, with minimal provisions coming into force to date. 

In January 2025, the two-year qualifying period that leaseholders previously needed to meet before extending their lease was removed. This means that since 31 January 2025, leaseholders do not have to wait before starting the lease extension process. 

This change applies retrospectively, meaning it is not limited to new leases signed after the commencement date but also benefits existing leaseholders. 

From 3 March 2025, changes to right to manage came into force, which removed the requirement for leaseholders to cover their freeholder’s legal fees when making a right-to-manage claim. 

However, it is unclear when any further provisions are likely to be introduced.   

Leasehold Reform Solicitors 

At the start of June 2025, a debate on leasehold reform was held in the House of Commons, during which Alex Norris, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, confirmed that the public consultation required to implement key parts of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 was still pending. 

He failed to give any firm timeline about the implementation of the Act, only saying that the Government “wanted to get it right”. 

 “I appreciate that there is frustration about consultation, but some of the challenges within the Act show why it is important that we get this right, and that we have a process that delivers the relief that people are so desperately waiting for.  

“We will bring the measures into force as soon as possible once we have the correct model”, said Norris. 

Until more provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act come into force, the practical impact on leaseholders is minimal, and existing law and procedures still apply. 

Leasehold Solicitors Blackheath 

At Beverley Morris & Co. Solicitors, we offer a full range of legal services related to leasehold property. 

Our experienced leasehold solicitors advise leaseholders on lease extensions, enfranchisement, right to manage and other legal issues affecting property ownership.   

If you are a leaseholder and need some legal advice on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 or any other matter affecting you, get in touch with us today.  

We will advise the best course of action for your situation and help and support you at every stage. 

To speak to our Lease Extension solicitors today, call us on 020 8852 4433 or email enquiries@beverleymorris.co.uk. 

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However, with full implementation of the Act likely to take years rather than months, industry insiders have urged homeowners not to “put their lives on hold” waiting for the government to reform the ‘feudal’ leasehold system. 

If a lease has less than 80 years remaining, its owner should act immediately to extend it, in order to avoid a dramatic drop in the property’s value or, worse still, having to pay a market rent for the property or hand the keys back to the landlord. 

In this blog, our experienced Lease Extension solicitors consider what owners of leasehold properties should do to extend a lease.  

Do you have to wait for two years to extend a lease? 

One of the elements of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act that has come into effect is the abolition of the need for a leaseholder to have owned a property for at least two years before they have the right to extend their lease. 

Since February 2025, leaseholders qualify for a statutory lease extension or can initiate an enfranchisement claim to acquire the freehold immediately upon purchasing a leasehold property (subject to the Land Registry application being processed). 

How do you extend a lease? 

There are two ways of extending a lease. The first is the ‘informal route’, which involves the leaseholder approaching the landlord to see whether the landlord is willing to grant a lease extension.  

The parties then negotiate to agree the new lease term and the price to be paid for the lease extension. There are no rules governing this route.  

If both parties cannot agree on the terms of the lease extension, then the formal statutory route must be followed, the details of which are set out in the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. 

This Act provides that all residential flat owners are entitled to add 90 years to the remaining term of their lease at a peppercorn (zero) ground rent. 

The statutory route to lease extensions involves the following main steps: 

1. Instruct a specialist solicitor.  

Appointing an experienced legal professional specialising in lease extensions is the crucial first step in ensuring a lease extension runs smoothly.  

A residential property solicitor will guide you through the process and ensure that all the correct legal procedures are followed. 

At Beverley Morris & Co. Solicitors, we help clients in Blackheath and across the wider South East with lease extensions, providing tailored and cost-effective legal advice. 

We will always ensure that you are fully aware of any costs involved, providing clear information on our fees throughout the process.   

A solicitor experienced in lease extensions will check the relevant eligibility criteria, help locate the freeholder and advise on what documentation you may need to compile. 

For more information about what is involved in lease extensions or to speak to one of our specialist lease extension solicitors, please call 020 8852 4433 or email enquiries@beverleymorris.co.uk. 

2. Instruct a valuation surveyor. 

An independent surveyor with experience of lease extensions and knowledge of the local property market will assess the property and evaluate how much the leaseholder should pay to the freeholder (known as the ‘premium’). 

3. Make an offer. 

Your solicitor will then formally initiate the process by serving a “section 42 notice” on the freeholder, advising them of your intention to extend the lease, and setting out the proposed terms.  

Some landlords might require a deposit, which must be paid within 14 days. 

4. Negotiations. 

Negotiations over the terms of the new lease will then take place with the landlord until you reach an agreement. 

5. Completion. 

Once the terms of the lease extension have been agreed, you will be required to pay the premium that has been agreed, your own legal costs and surveyor’s fees plus the freeholder’s legal fees and valuation fee.

6. Tribunal 

If terms cannot be agreed with the landlord, then the premium and any other terms will be determined by a Tribunal.   

How long do lease extensions take? 

Lease extensions typically take between three and 12 months depending on whether the informal or formal route is followed.  

If the formal route is followed, The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 sets out specific timeframes during which particular tasks must be completed. 

Instructing a competent and efficient solicitor can help the whole process run smoothly. For more information about lease extension timeframes, click here. 

How much does it cost to extend a lease? 

The cost of a lease extension depends on various factors, including the market value of the property, the number of years left on the lease, the annual ground rent, and the value of improvements made to the property by the leaseholder. 

Find out how much your lease extension might cost by clicking here. 

Lease Extension Solicitors Blackheath 

If you are hoping to increase your lease term by way of a lease extension, our solicitors at Beverley Morris & Co. Solicitors can help. 

Our residential property lawyers are very experienced in lease extensions and will guide you through the process involved to make it as smooth and stress free as possible. 

Whether you should look to extend your lease now or wait for the new legislation to come into force is not straightforward, and specialist legal advice is vital. 

If you are considering extending a lease on a residential property, our specialist residential lease extension solicitors at Beverley Morris & Co. can explain precisely what is involved. We will advise the best course of action for your situation and help and support you at every stage. 

To speak to our Lease Extension solicitors today, call us on 020 8852 4433 or email enquiries@beverleymorris.co.uk. 

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The Bill, designed to give tenants in the private rental market greater protection, was included in this summer’s King’s Speech, which is used to outline Labour’s legislative priorities for the coming months.

Its inclusion will appease those left frustrated by the previous Conservative government’s Renters (Reform) Bill failing to receive royal assent before parliament was dissolved.

Renters’ Rights Bill

The Renters’ Rights Bill is intended to improve the private rental system for both the 11 million private renters and 2.3 million landlords in England.

Although the government acknowledged the valuable contribution made by “responsible” landlords who provide “quality” homes to their tenants, it believes that “too many renters are being exploited by a minority of unscrupulous landlords, unable to challenge bad practices because they could be evicted at any moment”.

The party hopes that the Renters’ Rights Bill will “level decisively the playing field between landlord and tenant by providing renters with greater security, rights and protections and cracking down on the minority of unscrupulous landlords who exploit, mistreat or discriminate against tenants with bad practices such as unfair rent increases intended to force tenants out, and pitting renters against each other in bidding wars.”

The briefing notes to the King’s Speech, made on 17 July 2024, set out the key features of the Renters’ Rights Bill. These include:

• Abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’. Under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, landlords can ask tenants to move out of a property without giving a reason (known as ‘no-fault evictions’). Labour has pledged to remove the threat of arbitrary evictions and introduce new clear and expanded possession grounds so landlords can reclaim their properties when they need to.
• Strengthening tenants’ rights and protections. The new government has said it will empower tenants to challenge rent increases and introduce new laws to end the practice of rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents.
• Giving tenants the right to request a pet. Landlords must consider a tenant’s request and cannot unreasonably refuse. Landlords will be able to request insurance to cover potential damage from pets if needed.
• Applying a Decent Homes Standard. This will set minimum standards for living conditions in the private rented sector to ensure homes are safe, secure and hazard free.
• Introducing Awaab’s Law. The Bill includes a promise to set clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords in the private rented sector must make homes safe where they contain serious hazards. This follows a similar law to improve the safety and health of tenants in social housing, which came into force in July 2023. This was introduced following a campaign led by Awaab Ishak’s parents after Awaab died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould in his Rochdale social housing flat.
• Creating a digital private rental sector database to bring together key information for landlords, tenants, and councils. This centralised information source can be used by tenants when they are considering new tenancies and will enable landlords to quickly understand their obligations and demonstrate compliance. Councils will be able to use the database to target enforcement.
• Introducing a new ombudsman service. This will support quicker, cheaper resolution for both landlords and tenants when there are disputes and reduce the need to go to court.
• Making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children when choosing to let their property. Such anti-discrimination measures will ensure no family is discriminated against and denied a home when they need it.
• Strengthening local councils’ powers. New investigatory powers will make it easier for councils to identify and fine rogue landlords.

The Bill is still in its draft form and there is no timeline for when it will be introduced.

Landlord and Tenant Solicitors Blackheath

If you are a landlord or tenant looking for clarification about how the Renters’ Rights Bill will affect you, Beverley Morris & Co. Solicitors can help.

As a well-established and community focused local London law firm, we have advised numerous landlords on their obligations. We also advise tenants on their legal rights.

Should a dispute arise between landlord and tenant at any stage of the relationship lifecycle, our experienced Landlord and Tenant solicitors in Blackheath advise on the best course of action for the given situation and offer help and support at every stage.

To speak to our Landlord and Tenant solicitors today, call us on 020 8852 4433 or email enquiries@beverleymorris.co.uk.

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