Eight years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which claimed 72 lives, tens of thousands of people remain in unsafe homes, with remediation efforts slow and riddled with uncertainty, according to the new report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MCLHG) and the Welsh Government have proposed new regulations overhauling how insurance costs are charged to leaseholders in multi-occupancy buildings, to increase transparency and prevent leaseholders from being overcharged through commissions and hidden fees. While Propertymark supports efforts to ensure fairness for leaseholders, we have warned Ministers that these reforms alone will not bring down insurance premiums; a focus on building safety and insurer confidence is needed to achieve real change.

The UK Government has committed to banning the sale of new flats on a leasehold basis and reforming the legal framework for commonhold, so it becomes the default and preferred tenure. It will also become easier for existing leaseholders to convert to commonhold, although the complexities of this may take longer to work out. Few agents in England and Wales have experience with commonhold, as less than 20 developments currently exist, so Propertymark has broken down some key parts of the proposals to help members understand the change.

The UK Government has announced its next steps in a significant programme of reform to property ownership, aiming to abolish the traditional leasehold system and promote commonhold as the standard tenure for flats in England and Wales.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2025 mark the latest significant step towards strengthening the rights of leaseholders and providing them with greater powers and protections. These changes will directly impact estate and letting agents across the UK, as they affect how leasehold properties are managed, bought, and sold.

Recent developments concerning the company Tri Fire and one of its assessors have raised significant concerns over the validity of the EWS1 forms they have issued. Major banks are refusing to lend on properties assessed by Tri Fire, potentially causing delays or halts in property sales and remortgages.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (Commencement No. 2 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 introduce significant changes to leasehold property rights in England and Wales. The regulations enact Section 27 of the Act, removing the two-year qualifying period that leaseholders previously needed to meet before extending their lease or purchasing their freehold. Importantly, this change applies retrospectively, meaning it is not limited to new leases signed after the commencement date but also benefits existing leaseholders.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Welsh Government seek agents’ views on proposals to limit the building insurance charges that freeholders, property managing agents and landlords can ask leaseholders to pay. There are long-standing concerns about unjustified and unfair fees which leaseholders are unable to properly scrutinise and challenge.

The Older People’s Housing Taskforce has published a final report which includes many recommendations made by Propertymark. We met with the taskforce chair, Professor Julienne Meyer, and responded to the consultation, with proposals to enhance the choice, quality and security of housing for senior citizens.

The Remediation Acceleration Plan is the first scheme to set a deadline for completing work on all buildings in England with unsafe cladding. So far, only 30% of known at-risk buildings have been fully remediated, and it’s estimated that as many as 7,000 are still to be identified. Building Safety Minister, Alex Norris, MP, stated three aims; to fix buildings faster, identify all those with unsafe cladding, and support vulnerable residents.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook MP candidly admitted that the current Act contains flaws requiring further legislative action and has unveiled a series of consultations and measures. He has also committed to strengthening the regulation of managing agents, including as a minimum, mandatory professional qualifications.

From 31 October 2024, Part 5 of the Building Safety Act 2022 will be updated to clarify landlords’ responsibilities for remediation, to make remediation orders more effective, and to provide more detail about who can be required to contribute to the cost of remediation works. The UK Government is committed to enacting the legislation and has indicated that work to formulate further regulations is in progress.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has responded to recommendations made by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) based on their year-long investigation of residential construction in England, Scotland, and Wales. Ministers agree that reform is essential to ensure the market delivers homes that the country needs and have committed to creating a long-term housing strategy with the buy-in of local authorities, developers, landowners and investors.

Emergency services were called to the mixed-use residential and commercial block in Dagenham, East London, on 26 August 2024, and declared the scene a major incident. The building is one of 4,613 across the UK currently being monitored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government due to unsafe cladding.