You would have to think hard to come up with two politicians more diametrically opposed politically to each other than Angela Rayner and Michael Gove, but somewhat surprisingly one issue seems to have melded them into a single-minded force – leasehold reform!
Former Labour Housing Secretary Angel Rayner joined forces last week with former Conservative Housing Secretary Lord Gove to talk to the Commons Housing Committee, which is currently scrutinising the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.
Both former Ministers praised the government for moving quickly to get the draft legislation ready, but they did not give a fully positive report to the government as both had hoped that the reforms would go further.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Rayner in particular called on the Secretary of State to introduce an independent regulator for the sector, as proposed by Lord Best in 2019, and to bring forward proposed measures to improve the transparency of service charges.
Rayner has long positioned herself as a champion of leaseholders, and now out of government she has more freedom to express her views. In the past, she has publicly urged the government to implement its manifesto pledge to cap ground rents as she foresaw intense lobbying from freeholders around the issue. She told the committee that she understood that was trying to balance different interests by phasing out ground rents over 40 years, but she also issued a warning to the government that acting too slowly would give the impression of a victory by vested interests over the will of the people.
Lord Gove was also focused on ground rents and he spoke of his personal experience as Housing Secretary. He empathised with the current Housing Secretary as he is ‘fighting against a rear-guard action mounted by the freeholders and other financial interests and supported by the Treasury”. Gove went on to refer to the ‘institutional resistance of the Treasury’, which he has also experienced in office in relation to ground rents. The draft bill proposes that ground rents would be reduced to a peppercorn after 40 years, but Gove stated he would like to see the peppercorn rate coming in after 20 years.
Also speaking to the Committee was a representative of the Residential Freeholder Association, who warned the MPs on the committee that the draft bill could lead to unintended consequences and that the capping of ground rents could leave some freeholders insolvent. There were also warnings about the impact of the legislation on pension funds invested in freeholds.
Lord Gove passionately dismissed these points as ‘bogus’, clarifying that less than 1% of pension fund investments were in residential property, so any potential impact would be very limited.
Both Rayner and Gove were united in welcoming the legislation and put party politics to one side during their evidence. However, both also clearly made the point that the draft bill seemed like a balancing exercise, and had the potential to move too slowly to assuage leaseholders’ anger and despair. They were also both united in their advice to government to not be deterred about the prospect of freeholders seeking a judicial review or using the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the reforms. With the backing of Parliament to bring about change the former Housing Secretaries thought the government was in a strong position to defend any challenges.
The session at the committee was striking that it brought two very different minded politicians together in support of leaseholders. It also clearly emphasised the difficult job the Government has to smooth out competing interests, keep to manifesto promises and leaseholder expectations while not completely breaking the system through unintended consequences.
The Housing Committee will continue to receive evidence from experts as part of its scrutiny of the Government’s draft Bill, before publishing its findings, conclusions and recommendations to the Government later in the Spring.
Mark Chick – 12.03.2026
Mark Chick is the Joint Head of our expert Landlord & Tenant team.
If you have a query concerning leasehold property, then please contact the experts at Bishop & Sewell’s Landlord & Tenant team by emailing leasehold@bishopandsewell.co.uk or call on 020 7631 4141.
The above is accurate as at 12 March 2026.
The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis
