MPs Urge £250 Ground Rent Cap by Late 2027, 1 Year Earlier

2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 26

Late 2027 is when MPs say the £250 annual ground-rent cap should start, instead of the government's expected late-2028 timetable for existing leaseholds in England and Wales.
The cross-party committee wants the cap to take effect two months after the bill becomes law, saying around 5 million leaseholders have already waited too long as average ground rent reached £304 in 2023/24.
The report also challenges the government's plan to cut ground rents to a peppercorn rate only after 40 years, arguing a 20-year transition could be feasible despite ministers citing legal-risk concerns.
Beyond the cap, MPs back banning new leasehold flats as soon as possible, adding an independent property-management regulator and restoring Law Commission proposals to ease conversion to commonhold.
The push adds pressure on Labour to deliver its pledge to end the leasehold system this Parliament, even as ministers say a full ban on new leasehold flats may not arrive until after the next election.

With a £250 ground rent cap looming, are millions of UK homes now 'unmortgageable' until the new law is passed?

As the UK dismantles its 'feudal' leasehold system, what does the future of urban homeownership actually look like?

Could a legal fight from pension funds derail the UK's plan to cap historic ground rents on millions of homes?