On 11 November, the Government set new regulation before Parliament that gives greater protection to leaseholders and greater compliance obligations for landlords, bringing into force the service charge and management provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LAFRA). Subject to parliamentary approval, the changes will be phased in between April 2027 and November 2028.
Landlords and their managing agents that have not already prepared now have just a few months to get ahead and meet these new obligations.
Legal costs and information rights
At present, landlords habitually look to recover the costs of tribunal proceedings through the service charge unless leaseholders apply to stop them. From April 2027 this is reversed. Landlords will need permission from the court or First-tier Tribunal before adding litigation costs to service charges. These costs are not banned, but landlords will have to make the case for recovering them. Leaseholders will also get a new right to seek recovery of their own legal costs. A further set of regulations setting out the detail is expected before the end of 2026.
At the same time, leaseholders will be able to ask for information about their service charges, including charges from previous years. They can also ask how the building is managed, maintained, repaired and insured. Landlords will need a good reason to refuse.
Compliance changes
More far-reaching changes will take place from November 2027. These include:
- Administration charges. Landlords and managers must publish a schedule of administration charges. A charge will only be payable if it has been on the schedule for at least 28 days.
- Leaseholders must be given detailed information about building insurance. There will be limits on the commissions and fees that can be charged for arranging it. If these rules are not followed, leaseholders can apply to the tribunal for a refund.
- Demands and accounts. Service charge demands must follow a prescribed standard format. Where there are four or more dwellings, landlords must provide an annual statement of account within six months of the end of the accounting period, together with an annual report.
What’s missing?
The announcement says nothing about when managing agents will be regulated. The government has committed to taking forward, but there is still no timetable. For many people paying service charges, regulating agents would arguably make a bigger difference than any of the measures announced so far.
What this means for landlords
Many landlords and managing agents already give leaseholders much of this information and have been preparing for some time. Even so, they need to understand these changes and prepare for the additional compliance obligations. Billing and accounting systems, insurance arrangements and fee structures will all need to be reviewed before the deadlines.
Whilst greater transparency is a laudable aim, there is the question of whether the costs that come with additional reporting and compliance will end up being passed on to leaseholders through higher management fees.
Today’s announcement confirms the first phase of the Government’s service charge reforms under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, with the most significant operational changes for landlords and managing agents following from November 2027.
Good landlords have been preparing for these changes for many months and many already provide this information. They welcome these changes. Those that do not, now need to act.
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 November 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.
