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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to protect residents of leasehold retirement properties from unaffordable increases in service charges and associated management fees.

The government recognises the importance of helping older people to live independently at home for as long as possible and is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market, including retirement or sheltered housing. We are also committed to ensuring that leaseholders, including those living in retirement homes, are protected from unfair and unreasonable practices.

There are currently two government-approved codes of practice in force in relation to the residential leasehold sector and private retirement housing. These are the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Management Service Charge Code and the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (AHRM) Code of Practice. The enforcement of standards set out in these codes can be taken into account as evidence, at court or tribunal hearings.

Individual leases set out what services leaseholders may expect to receive, and what they should pay for. By law variable service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to works or services, the works or services must be of a reasonable standard. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges, they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.

On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. We continue to analyse the feedback received and will set out next steps in due course.

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People's Housing Taskforce report, including its recommendation that the government should implement the Law Commission’s 2017 recommendations to regulate event fees and a comprehensive report into resale values to support better consumer understanding and sector development.

On 27 January 2026, we published the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278), a guide to the draft Bill which can be found on gov.uk here, and to the draft Impact Assessment for the draft Bill which can be found on gov.uk here.