Housing minister rejects calls for immediate leasehold abolition

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Housing minister rejects calls for immediate leasehold abolition

The housing minister claims the government will not “immediately abolish leasehold overnight”.

In a speech at the Institute for Government think tank, Matthew Pennycook criticised those calling for outright abolition, questioning how the mortgage market would be affected.

The National Leasehold Campaign has called for reform, saying “justice delayed is justice denied, and that is exactly how leaseholders now experience this system”.

Not promising to abolish leasehold outright

Mr Pennycook said in his speech: “In making that manifesto commitment to bring the leasehold system to an end, we were not promising to immediately abolish leasehold outright.

“If outright abolition had been our intention, we would have stood on a manifesto that promised as much.

“We did not do so, and for good reason, because anyone, with even the most rudimentary knowledge of leasehold, knows that the outright and immediate abolition of circa five million English and Welsh leases is almost certainly impossible.

“Those advocating for such an approach cannot answer how it would be lawful; how the impact on the mortgage market would be managed; how it would even be feasible for the land registry to delete millions of leasehold and freehold titles and replace them with commonhold ones overnight; how millions of commonhold associations could instantly be established with hundreds of thousands of directors corralled into overseeing them; or what the consequences would be for buildings that have already enfranchised or exercised the Right to Manage.

“They can’t answer these questions because abolishing leasehold outright is a glib soundbite rather than a serious policy proposition.”

Make commonhold the default tenure

Mr Pennycook added instead the government wants to end the feudal leasehold system by making commonhold the default tenure.

He said: “To stop the renewal of the leasehold system, we are legislating to make commonhold the default tenure.

“Commonhold is a modern homeownership structure that is used widely around the world.

“It is not merely an alternative to leasehold ownership, but a radical improvement on it.

“At the heart of the commonhold model is a simple principle: the people who should own buildings, and who should exercise control over their management, shared facilities and related costs are not third-party landlords but the people who live in flats within them and who have a direct stake in their upkeep. Commonhold ensures that the interests of homeowners are preserved in perpetuity.”

Industry reaction to Mr Pennycook’s speech

The National Leasehold campaign said they understood leasehold could not be abolished overnight, but the government must do more to protect leaseholders.

The campaign said: “We are realistic. We know that leasehold cannot be abolished overnight. But leaseholders have run out of patience, and they are entitled to. After years of promises, consultations and repeated commitments, words alone are now meaningless without visible, concrete progress. Justice delayed is justice denied, and that is exactly how leaseholders now experience this system.

The campaign adds: “What the Minister has confirmed is that he will not be deterred by complexity. He has been honest about the challenges, realistic about what can be achieved, and clear about the direction of travel towards finally ending the feudal leasehold system. That clarity matters.

“However, for existing leaseholders facing escalating costs, insecurity and daily stress, intent must rapidly turn into outcomes.

“Millions have waited far too long for meaningful change. Many are losing faith that reform will ever arrive. The Minister has confirmed a determination to provide existing leaseholders with genuine escape routes, and those commitments must now be delivered in legislation, not postponed yet again. Every further delay compounds the injustice.”

Support government ambition

Chief executive officer at The Property Institute (TPI), Andrew Bulmer, welcomed the government’s commitment to mandatory qualification.

He said: “TPI supports the government’s clear ambition to reinvigorate commonhold and reform leasehold, empowering residents to take control of their own affairs and bills.

“If there are more residents running their own buildings, however, there is a greater need for competent, qualified professional property managers to support them. Whilst many managing agents do a good job, the lack of any regulatory oversight or enforcement means that bad actors and bad behaviours exist, and we must raise the bar of professional standards.

“The government’s commitment to mandatory qualifications is very welcome, and vital to raise standards. We encourage the minister to go further and introduce regulation of property managers, to improve trust and confidence in flat ownership, which is vital for boosting housing delivery.”

Service chargers can have a negative impact

Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Pennycook said service charges can have a negative impact on leaseholders.

When asked by Inside Housing Magazine whether a regulator should oversee the planned reforms, he said he understood why some leaseholders favour stronger measures such as caps, but argued they could do more harm than good.

He told Inside Housing: “We don’t think things like caps will work. I’ll give you an example of why. If you’re in a building that’s enfranchised, you’ve taken control. You might need to do your roof at some point and you might need to raise money beyond a cap to do the roof. That’s a choice.

“The point is, service charges have to be reasonable and we’ve got to allow people the means to challenge when they’re not.

“At the moment, the fact that you can get hit for litigation costs, the fact that you can’t often see what your service charge means, there’s no standardised form. It’s not transparent.

“People just don’t feel confident enough to go to the tribunal. So that’s the thrust of the reforms. But we’re not looking at caps or anything cruder. I think they’ll end up having a detrimental impact on leaseholders, particularly for those who’ve taken control.”

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Why landlord sentiment is becoming a leading indicator for the housing market

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Property118

Why landlord sentiment is becoming a leading indicator for the housing market

A growing insight from the latest data is not just what landlords are doing, but what their intentions signal about the wider market. According to the Property118 Landlord Sentiment Survey Q1 2026, landlord sentiment is increasingly acting as a leading indicator for future housing trends.

Based on 2,380 completed responses, the survey reveals a clear directional shift, with 57% of landlords planning to reduce portfolios and only 6.8% intending to expand. You can review the full findings here.

The implication is clear: what landlords intend today shapes what the market becomes tomorrow.

From sentiment to reality

Market outcomes are often preceded by changes in sentiment. Before transactions take place, before supply shifts and before prices adjust, there is usually a period where participants reassess their position. The survey data captures that moment. It reflects how landlords are thinking before those thoughts translate into action. This makes sentiment particularly valuable. It provides an early view of direction rather than a retrospective analysis.

Why landlords matter in this context

Landlords play a central role in the housing market. Their decisions influence not only rental supply, but also transaction volumes, property availability and the balance between rental and owner-occupied housing.

As highlighted in the Property118 dataset, many landlords operate at scale, with an average of 9.7 properties per respondent. This amplifies the impact of their decisions. When landlords change direction, the market responds.

A forward-looking dataset

Traditional market data often focuses on what has already happened. Completed transactions, price movements and lending volumes provide valuable insight, but they are inherently backward-looking. By contrast, sentiment data offers a forward view.

The Q1 2026 survey captures intentions, expectations and planned actions, all of which help to anticipate future developments.

Implications for interpretation

Recognising landlord sentiment as a leading indicator changes how the data should be interpreted. It is not simply a reflection of current conditions, but a signal of what may follow. Rising intentions to sell, limited appetite for expansion and a tendency to hold all point towards a market that is adjusting. The timing of that adjustment may vary, but the direction is becoming clearer.

A tool for anticipating change

As the Property118 survey series continues on a quarterly basis, it has the potential to become a consistent reference point for tracking changes in sentiment over time. This creates a valuable tool because rather than waiting for shifts to become visible in traditional data, it becomes possible to anticipate them earlier.

For now, one conclusion stands out: landlord sentiment is no longer just an observation, it is an early signal of where the housing market is heading.

A conversation worth having?

If you are weighing up your own strategy, whether that’s to sell, expand, or restructure to improve profitibility, it is worth having a discussion with a Property118 consultant to take a closer look at how your portfolio is structured as a whole now, and to forecast the outcomes based on multiple scenario’s.

These conversations are typically most useful for landlords with established portfolios and relatively modest borrowing who are beginning to reflect on how their assets could work more effectively in the years ahead.

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Most tenants unaware of how RRA affects their rights

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Property118

Most tenants unaware of how RRA affects their rights

More than 78% of tenants don’t know how the Renters’ Rights Act will impact their rights.

According to a survey by Housing Hand, only one in five tenants understood their rights under the act.

Under the act, tenants will gain stronger protections, including the abolition of Section 21 and an end to bidding wars.

Confusion is rife in the rental sector

The survey by guarantor service Housing Hand reveals 29% of renters don’t know what the Renters’ Rights Act is, while 37% have heard of it but don’t know what it involves.

Nearly half of renters (42%) said they found the rental market confusing.

Graham Hayward, managing director of Housing Hand, explains: “Confusion is rife in the rental sector, with significant knowledge gaps among tenants as to precisely what the Renters’ Rights Act is and how it affects them.

“Such large-scale change is, of course, never entirely smooth sailing, but it seems there is still much to be done in terms of getting the message out there about how renting is changing.

“The next couple of years will be a very interesting time for the rental sector, as tenants’ choices reflect a growing appreciation for their new rights. Understanding of the Renters’ Rights Act may be limited currently, but as awareness grows, we will see the sector evolve in new ways and stand ready to support both our renter clients and accommodation providers and landlords through these changes.”

Considering longer-term impact

Among the 22% of renters who feel confident they understand the act’s implications for their rights, a figure that falls to 19% among student renters, many are already considering the longer-term impact of the changes on different types of tenancies.

One in five of those who understand the act say they will choose a different type of property as a result, while a further 27% are considering doing so.

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