This speech formally opens a new session of the UK Parliament and sets out the government’s legislative agenda and policy priorities for the upcoming year.
The first of the three bills, a Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, was published in draft on 27 January 2026 to allow for stakeholder consultation, which officially closed on 24 April 2026.
Under the new bill, leaseholders will gain stronger rights to cheaply and easily extend their leases or buy out their freeholds entirely, while developers will be legally stopped from issuing new leaseholds on flats in England and Wales.
Ground rents will be legally capped at £250 per year, which will automatically drop to a zero-value ‘peppercorn’ rate after 40 years.
The bill will also take power away from landlords, who won’t be able seize a flat over unpaid debts, and this will be replaced with a statutory lease enforcement scheme. The rights of freeholders on private estates will also diminish, with leaseholders protected from recovery powers related to estate rent charges.
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The bill means that commonhold will become the default way to own a flat, rather than leasehold. This method of property ownership was introduced in England and Wales in 2002 as an alternative to the traditional leasehold system.
Under a commonhold system, the concept of a landlord or freeholder is completely removed. Each flat owner owns their individual flat outright and forever, with no expiry date or lease extension costs, and they and the other unit owners jointly own and manage the common parts of the building, such as the hallways, roof, and gardens. The building is run by a registered company called a commonhold association. Every flat owner is automatically a member with an equal vote.
Building Remediation Bill
The second major housing bill deals with the issue of homeowners whose flats have been devalued by unsafe cladding. The bill, which only applies to buildings over 11 metres tall, introduces a 2029 deadline for the complete removal of high-risk cladding from all high-rise buildings across England. This removal must be paid for by construction product manufacturers and developers. Freeholders and landlords who block or delay vital safety works face severe financial penalties and potential criminal prosecution.
The bill also grants the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) increased enforcement powers to step in, take control of slow-moving projects, and bill the building owners directly.
The Social Housing Renewal Bill
In addition to these two bills, the speech introduced a Social Housing Renewal Bill that will exempt newly built social homes in England from Right to Buy for 35 years. This will introduce new protections for social tenants who are victims of domestic abuse, enabling them to stay in their properties.
Uncertainty and delay
Experts warned that just because an issue makes it into the King’s Speech does not mean it will necessarily become law, particularly in the current political climate.
Charlotte Kennedy, chartered financial planner at Rathbones, said: “This year’s speech comes with a caveat. It has been overshadowed by serious questions over the Prime Minister’s future after hefty local election losses, making today’s agenda look fragile. Any change at the top could leave large parts of it redundant, with a new leader likely to pursue a different course.”
Meanwhile, lawyers at Forsters warned that the transition from leasehold to commonhold was likely to be “extremely complex”.
Caroline Wild, counsel in the real estate disputes team, said: “With leasehold reform now politically inevitable, any forthcoming bill is likely to represent one of the most significant overhauls of property ownership for generations.
“However, while the political intent is clear, the government still faces a considerable challenge in balancing the competing interests at play. If the balance is not struck, there is a real risk that the property market could be left in a prolonged state of uncertainty, with leaseholders potentially worse off than they were before.”
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said the leasehold reform was positive.
“Leaseholders and residents have faced unacceptable delays and uncertainty for too long. The UK government must ensure remediation funding, enforcement powers and clear legal responsibilities are implemented quickly so that affected residents are protected, and confidence can return to the housing market,” he added.
