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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of leases that have been forfeited because the leaseholder fell into ground rent arrears of 3 months in each of the last five years.

My Department does not hold data on long leases that have been treated as assured shorthold tenancies as a result of ground rent increases. Nor does it hold data on the number of leases that have been forfeited due to ground rent arrears.

The government has acted through the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 to ensure that leases granted for more than 21 years will be excluded from the assured tenancy regime. The relevant provisions will come into force on 27 December 2025 and will mean that from that date it will no longer be the case that, under provisions of the Housing Act 1988, leaseholders paying a ground rent of more than £250 a year (or more than £1,000 in London) can be legally regarded as assured tenants, and as such can have their home repossessed if they fall behind on their ground rents.

We also recognise that under the current legal framework, landlords may rely on a contractual right to forfeit a lease where a leaseholder breaches a covenant – such as the failure to pay ground rent. The availability of forfeiture as a remedy can create a significant power imbalance between landlords and leaseholders, with its use resulting in the leaseholder losing both their home and any equity accrued in the property.

We will address this through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill by removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of enforcing lease compliance. The Government also remains committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and doing so in legislation.