Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill: What are the key headlines for landlords and developers?

On 27 January 2026, the Government published a press release announcing that it plans to cap ground rents in existing long residential leases to £250 from 2028 and will further reduce ground rents to a peppercorn (nil) after 40 years. The previous Government has already eliminated ground rent in new leases of flats in the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022.

This headline-grabbing announcement will dramatically reduce the value of some landlords’ portfolios. With an increase in pension funds buying ground rent portfolios over the last fifteen years, critics are concerned about the impact on investors. The Government suggests that its policy will see freeholders/landlords retaining approximately 39% to 45% of the value of ground rents over the lifetime of leases. 

Alongside that press release, we also saw the following developments:

• The Government published a draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny;
• The Bill mandates that developers sell new flats on a commonhold basis;
• The Bill seeks to make it easier for existing blocks to convert to commonhold by reducing the threshold to 50% leaseholder consent rather than the current 100% consent;
• The Bill proposes significant leasehold reforms such as removal of forfeiture as a method of enforcement; 
• The Government published a 12-week consultation about the implementation of commonhold which is open until 24 April 2026.

The Government’s proposals will make seismic changes to the residential sector and landlords, developers, investors, leaseholders, tenants and stakeholders will want to ensure that they understand what the changes mean for them and most importantly have their say by responding to the Government’s consultation. It has been clear since the Law Commission’s reports of 2020 that the path has been set for commonhold as the predominant form of homeownership in England. But with the publication of the draft Bill alongside the “Moving to Commonhold” consultation, stakeholders now have a critical window to shape the final legislation.

For a deeper analysis into the Bill and what landlords and developers need to know, please see our Insight: Taking a deeper dive into the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill: What do landlord and developers need to know? We also continue to track developments on our Essential Residential Hub. If you have any queries, please contact Lauren Fraser, Laura Bushaway or your usual Charles Russell Speechlys contact.