Pressure mounts to move £250 ground rent cap forward to 2027

Media reports suggest the government could bring forward plans to cap ground rents following pressure from MPs.

A story in The Times says ministers may introduce a £250 ground rent cap in 2027 instead of 2028.

However, campaigners argue that implementing the cap a year earlier does not amount to the decisive action needed to help leaseholders.

2028 at the latest

The Times reports that around 80 MPs, including former Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, have put pressure on ministers over the issue, with some reportedly threatening to rebel if the Treasury watered down the government’s manifesto commitment to end the “feudal” leasehold system.

A report by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee also urged the government to implement the ground rent cap “without undue delay”.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has previously said there were “a number of remaining policy choices that we need to work through” before decisions are made on how quickly changes can be implemented.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson confirmed to The Times that they plan to cap ground rents by 2028 at the latest.

Still falls far short

However, the National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) argues that while it supports capping ground rents, bringing the measure forward to 2027 is not enough.

The NLC told Property118: “We support the proposal to bring forward a £250 ground rent cap, but let’s be absolutely clear: this still falls far short of the urgency the situation demands.

“For years, leaseholders have been trapped in a system that is fundamentally unfair and irreparably broken, a system we have consistently exposed.

“People are living with unsellable homes, spiralling costs, and lives placed indefinitely on hold while the government continues to delay meaningful action”.

Ground rent cap must take place immediately

The campaign group adds the ground rent cap of £250 must take place immediately.

The group added: “The case for reform is no longer in doubt. The evidence has been tested, scrutinised and proven. Even the official scrutiny report confirms what the National Leasehold Campaign have been saying for over a decade: ground rent is money taken for nothing. Yet despite this consensus, leaseholders are once again being told to wait.

“Bringing implementation forward by a single year is not decisive action, it is the bare minimum in the face of what has become a national scandal.

“Every further delay has real consequences: more leaseholders forced to pay unjustified charges, more properties rendered unsellable, and more individuals and families left in financial and emotional limbo. This is not an abstract policy issue, it is causing real harm, every single day.”

“Our position is unequivocal: the ground rent cap must take effect immediately following Royal Assent. It cannot be left to an unspecified timetable dictated by Ministers. Leaseholders have already waited far too long.”