housing · leaseholders · landlords
Leaseholder fee caps and regulation of property agents
Muhsin AkhtarSource: UK GOV
The government plans powers to cap leaseholder permission and administration fees, and to regulate property agents. Nothing is in force yet.
On 29 September 2026 the government said it will legislate to cap certain fees charged to leaseholders and to homeowners on privately managed estates. It also intends to regulate property agents. Neither measure is in force. The fee caps depend on a consultation that has not yet set any amounts.
Permission and administration fees
Leaseholders, and people living on freehold estates, can be charged for a landlord’s permission for ordinary requests, such as keeping a pet. The government says there is no certainty about those costs and no clear oversight of the process.
It will legislate to give the Secretary of State power to set caps that landlords must follow. The same powers are intended to cover privately managed estates, where homeowners can be charged for minor cosmetic changes to their properties.
Administration fees are intended to be covered as well. The examples given are a charge for providing documents on request, and a charge for being notified of a change of mortgage lender.
A public consultation will decide which fees are capped and the amount of each cap. Until that consultation is complete and the powers are used, there is no statutory maximum.
Property agents
The government also intends to introduce an independent regulator of property agents, covering leaseholders, tenants and homebuyers. It says this would support more than 5 million existing leaseholders, as well as future homeowners.
A regulator would be able to set codes of practice, including standards of conduct and complaint handling. Property agents would need a licence and appropriate qualifications. The regulator could remove a licence where those standards are not met.
No start date, licensing rules or qualification requirements have been published. The government says it will bring the changes forward as soon as it can, and will set out more information in due course.
What applies today
Landlords and managing agents who charge permission or administration fees are still working under the current rules. It is worth being able to explain what each fee is for, and how it was calculated, before any cap arrives.
If you hold a leasehold property, or you charge these fees, contact us and we can look at how the proposals sit alongside your arrangements.