Parliament Has Spoken. Now the Government Must Act.
Parliament’s message is clear: the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill matters, but it does not go far enough. Here is what the Committee wants fixed before the final Bill lands in autumn 2026.
Earlier in the year, on 27 May 2026, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee published its report after months of evidence on the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. Its conclusion is simple: the Bill moves reform forward, but not far enough.
The Committee’s message to government is blunt: go further and move faster. Millions of leaseholders are still waiting for promises made years ago, and the Committee wants a stronger Bill in Parliament this autumn, with key reforms in force during 2027.
Here are the Committee’s main recommendations:
1. Ground Rent: Halve the Switch-Off Period
The draft Bill proposes capping existing ground rents at £250 per year and converting them to a peppercorn after 40 years. The Committee recommends cutting that transition period to 20 years. The Committee also calls on the government to publish its evidence base for why 40 years was the right period, and to bring the £250 cap into force by late 2027 rather than leaving the commencement date at ministerial discretion.
This is the report’s headline recommendation, and its most controversial. Critics warn that speeding up the transfer of value from freeholders to leaseholders could trigger a Human Rights Act challenge. The Committee’s answer appears to be that caution is no longer enough.
2. Commonhold Conversion: Make It the Mandatory Output from Enfranchisement
The draft Bill still stops short of making commonhold the default tenure for flats. The Committee says collective enfranchisement should end in commonhold as a mandatory outcome, not just an option. In practice, that would stop leaseholders from buying the freehold only to recreate another leasehold structure.
The Committee also recommends that the government implements the Law Commission’s remaining recommendations on leasehold reform, several of which were promised in the government’s manifesto but are entirely absent from the draft Bill. Incorporating these would make it easier and more affordable for existing leaseholders to convert to commonhold.
3. Managing Agents: Create an Independent Regulator
The draft Bill says nothing about the regulation of property managing agents. The Committee says it should. In the Committee’s own survey of homeowners, 39 per cent identified regulation of managing agents as the single most important protection the government could provide. The Committee recommends the creation of an independent regulator with real powers to act against poor management.
This is not a new demand. Leaseholder groups and industry bodies have been saying it for years. What matters is that Parliament has now added real weight to it.
4. HM Land Registry: Fund It Properly
The Committee identifies HMLR’s legacy systems as a genuine risk to the implementation of commonhold. The report expresses concern that the government has not provided sufficient funding to support the digitisation and automation needed to handle an increase in commonhold applications. Without a functioning Land Registry, the report notes, commonhold will struggle to get off the ground regardless of what the statute says.
The Committee calls for greater investment in HMLR’s systems and a clear plan for addressing its existing backlog of casework.
5. Shared Ownership: Give Homeowners a Vote
The Committee flags concerns about the position of shared ownership leaseholders within commonhold associations, recommending that the government addresses voting rights for this group. The treatment of shared owners as permitted leaseholders within a commonhold scheme creates a structural tension that the Committee considers unresolved in the draft Bill.
6. Timeline: Autumn 2026, No Excuses
The Committee is unusually direct on timing. It wants the final Bill to reach Parliament for first and second readings before the November 2026 recess, with key provisions in force during 2027. The government now has two months to respond.
Committee chair Florence Eshalomi MP made the point in direct terms: millions of leaseholders have waited too long for successive governments to act. The Committee intends this Parliament to be the one that finally does.
What Does This All Mean?
The report does not change the law, but it tells us where the final Bill is likely to go. If the government accepts the Committee’s main recommendations, the legislation will be tougher than the draft. Ground rent will disappear sooner. Commonhold conversion will become more compulsory. Managing agents will face statutory regulation for the first time.
For developers, this points to a market in which commonhold may become the expected structure for new flats, with greater pressure to design schemes that work without long leasehold mechanics. For portfolio owners, the direction of travel is more challenging: faster ground rent reform, tighter regulation, and a stronger push away from leasehold all increase the risk of long-term income and asset models being disrupted. For individual flat owners, the likely outcome is stronger consumer protection, a clearer route out of leasehold, and more leverage against poor management.
At Ellisons, we can offer you tailored advice on the implications of the draft Bill and the Committee’s recommendations. If you would like to discuss what the proposed reforms mean for your development, your portfolio, or your leasehold interests, please get in touch at enquiries@ellisons.com
