Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1278 of 27 January 2026 on commonhold and leasehold reform, what assessment the Department has made of why commonhold has not gained traction since 2004; what targets have been set for commonhold take-up over the next five and ten years; what engagement has taken place with mortgage lenders, developers and conveyancers to ensure market readiness; and what mechanisms will be used to monitor adoption and prevent disruption to housing delivery.

The Commonhold White Paper published on 3 March 2025 set out both the legal and market barriers to the widespread adoption of the original commonhold system, as well as the government’s approach to resolving these.

On 27 January 2026, we published the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, which will reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, make it easier for leaseholders to convert their homes to commonhold and ensure commonhold becomes the default tenure by banning new leasehold flats. No numerical targets for the take-up of commonhold have been set.

Alongside the publication of the draft Bill, we launched a consultation ‘Moving to Commonhold’ on banning new leasehold flats, where we are seeking views from industry and consumers on key issues including the timing of the ban, any necessary exemptions, and the transitional arrangements needed to minimise disruption to delivery of new housing supply. The consultation also invites specific feedback on questions of market readiness, and we would encourage all of those operating across the housing market to take part. As part of our commitment to ensuring effective monitoring and evaluation of the government’s leasehold and commonhold reforms, we will publish the evaluation findings in due course.