23.02.26

Ground Rents to be Capped – Key Changes for Leaseholders

On 27 January 2026, the Government announced a long-awaited change to the level of ground rents that Freeholders/Landlords can charge to tenants of long leases.   For some years, the Government has been promising legislation to curb what they themselves identified as ‘excessive’ ground rents for flats or leasehold houses, but they have been slow to announce any actual changes.

Some flat or leasehold house owners have found it difficult to sell or remortgage their properties due to high ground rents.  There is a particular issue over ‘doubling’ ground rents, which left leaseholders paying thousands each year to their Freeholder.

The announcement last month confirmed an annual cap of £250.00 on any ground rents charged.

Although this is welcome for most leaseholders, the changes fall far short of what many had hoped for, and the Government’s own early indications had been to remove ground rents entirely.

The changes are also not yet in place – they are set out within a draft Bill which is awaiting Parliamentary approval.