What the draft Bill proposes.
The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published by the government on 27 January 2026 and confirmed as a legislative priority in the King's Speech on 13 May 2026. The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee is currently carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny, with the final Bill expected to be introduced to Parliament in autumn 2026.
Three changes define the Bill. First, a ground rent cap: existing leaseholders currently paying ground rent will see it reduced to a maximum of £250 per year, falling to a nominal peppercorn after 40 years. Second, new flats will no longer be sold as leasehold. Once the commencement provisions are in force, commonhold becomes the default tenure for newly built flats, removing the separate freeholder from the picture. Third, forfeiture (the mechanism that allows a freeholder to pursue repossession of a flat over any unpaid charge, however small) will be abolished and replaced with a more proportionate enforcement system.
The government expects these changes to come into force from late 2028 at the earliest.
£250/yr
Ground rent cap for existing leases
4.4m
Leasehold dwellings in England
2028
Earliest reforms in force
40 years
Until ground rent falls to peppercorn
What changes for existing leaseholders.
A large share of the flats in Huntingdon, St Ives, Brampton and Hartford are sold on long leasehold terms. Many were built in the 1990s and 2000s, when developers routinely sold the freehold to an investment company while retaining the leasehold structure.
The Bill addresses three problems that flow from that. On ground rent: if your current annual ground rent sits above £250, the cap will reduce it on commencement. Many purpose-built blocks from that era have escalating ground rent clauses that were marketed as trivial but have become a real obstacle at remortgage time.
On lease length: the Bill amends the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to make it cheaper and simpler to extend a lease or buy the freehold outright. A lease shorter than 80 years makes a property significantly harder to mortgage and reduces its value on resale. The reform lowers the cost of remedying that, which matters for anyone sitting on a flat with a shortening lease.
On forfeiture: under current law a freeholder can apply to court to forfeit a lease over any unpaid charge. The replacement enforcement regime will require proportionality before any forfeiture-equivalent remedy can be sought. Taken together, these changes reduce the practical risk of owning a leasehold flat and should support valuations in buildings where those risks previously weighed on price.
What changes for buyers of new flats.
New developments in the patch will, once the commencement provisions are in force, have to offer newly built flats as commonhold rather than leasehold. Commonhold is a form of freehold ownership: the flat buyer holds the freehold to their individual unit and shares ownership of the common parts (stairwells, roof, structure) with the other flat owners through a residents' body called the commonhold association.
The practical effects are significant: no ground rent, no separate freeholder to charge for consent to alterations or subletting, no lease-length anxiety, and no forfeiture risk. Service charge decisions are made collectively by the owners rather than by a third party with its own commercial interests.
For buyers looking at new developments currently in the pipeline in Huntingdonshire, the specific tenure of any flat units will depend on when construction completes relative to when the commencement provisions take effect. If you are considering a new-build flat, it is worth asking the developer when the plot is expected to exchange and what tenure they intend to apply.
The timeline and what to do now.
The Bill is still in draft. The HCLG Committee has called for several improvements before the final version is introduced. The government expects to introduce the final Bill in autumn 2026. Assuming a relatively normal parliamentary timetable, Royal Assent could follow in 2027, with commencement regulations bringing individual provisions into force from late 2028. The housing minister acknowledged in April 2026 that the ban on new leasehold flats may not take effect within this Parliament, so 2029 or 2030 is possible for that specific provision.
For anyone buying a flat in the patch today, the upshot is straightforward: leasehold still applies to existing stock, and will apply to most new-build flats for at least two to three more years. The specific terms of any leasehold flat you buy in that window still matter and are worth checking before any offer is made.
Buying a flat in Huntingdonshire?
Before making an offer, it pays to check: how much lease remains, what the ground rent currently is and what the escalation terms say, and how service charges have been managed in recent years. A free valuation with us covers all of this for your specific property.
Sources: Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, GOV.UK, 27 January 2026. King's Speech 2026, House of Lords Library briefing LLN-2026-0018. English Housing Survey leasehold data.