The Government plans to take powers to cap permission and administration fees charged to leaseholders, including costs for requests to keep a pet, make cosmetic changes or obtain documents such as building-safety certificates.
The 29 September announcement does not set a price cap or bring a new charge rule into force. Ministers said a public consultation will determine which fees are covered and the amount for each item before the proposed legislative powers are used.
Leasehold landlords and freeholders should treat the announcement as an early warning rather than an immediate change to income. Charges linked to permissions, document requests and notices of a mortgage change could all face closer scrutiny once the consultation defines the scope.
Permission and administration fees are in scope
The Government said leaseholders can currently be asked to pay for a landlord’s permission for ordinary requests without certainty over the cost or clear oversight of the process. It intends to give the Secretary of State powers to introduce caps that landlords must follow.
The planned powers also cover administration charges. The examples named by ministers include fees for providing building-safety certificates and for recording a change in mortgage provider. The Government said the changes would extend to privately managed estates, where homeowners can face similar charges for minor alterations.
Nothing in the announcement fixes a timetable, a cap level or the final list of charges. That limitation is important for freeholders and managing agents: contracts and existing schedules are not automatically rewritten by a policy announcement, but the consultation could shape rules that later affect recurring fee income.
Property-agent regulator is also proposed
Ministers also said they intend to introduce independent regulation of property agents. Under the proposal, regulated agents would need a licence and appropriate qualifications, while a regulator could set codes of practice on conduct and complaints handling and remove licences for serious failures.
The announcement gives no implementation date, fee level or detail on the regulator’s structure. Letting and managing agents should therefore avoid presenting the plan as a live licensing requirement, while watching for the promised further information and the consultation on fee caps.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s July report on the Government’s planned 2027 service-charge overhaul for flat landlords. That programme concerned standardised demands and information rights; the latest proposal goes further by focusing on the individual permission and administration charges that can arise during a lease.
Existing leasehold reform remains separate
The policy sits within a wider reform agenda, but it is distinct from abolition of leasehold tenure. Landlord Knowledge previously reported that ministers had ruled out an overnight abolition of leasehold, leaving current ownership structures in place while specific charges and processes are reviewed.
The Government’s announcement says over five million existing leaseholders and future homeowners are intended to benefit from the package. For landlords, the practical question is narrower: which charges are genuinely linked to work and consent, and whether records and price schedules would support them under a future capped regime.
What this means for landlords
- If you own leasehold flats or collect estate charges: list permission and administration fees now, including pet-consent, alteration and document-request charges.
- If you use a managing agent: ask how it records the work behind each charge and whether its fee schedule can be explained clearly to leaseholders.
- Watch for: the consultation on scope and cap levels, because the 29 September announcement gives no live price limit or start date.
- Bottom line: no fee cap applies yet, but leasehold charge practices are moving towards greater scrutiny and possible statutory limits.
Editor’s view
The Government has identified a set of small charges that can become a persistent source of distrust in leasehold buildings. A sensible regime should distinguish between genuine administrative work and fees that bear little relation to it.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 29 September 2026
Sources: UK Government
Related reading: Government confirms 2027 service charge overhaul for flat landlords
