Leasehold law in England
Start with the provision in force on the relevant date.
Leasehold questions often cross several Acts, regulations and commencement orders. This is a working route to the primary sources, not a substitute for reading the provision that applies to the facts.
How to use the law
Four checks before quoting a section.
Jurisdiction
Confirm whether the building and issue sit in England, Wales or another jurisdiction. Similar terms can sit under different statutory routes.
Date
Identify when the cost, notice, decision, transaction or breach occurred. Use the version of the provision in force at that time.
Scope
Read definitions, exceptions, thresholds and related regulations. A heading or isolated subsection may not establish that the rule applies.
Commencement
Royal Assent does not bring every provision into force. Check commencement regulations and official reform updates before relying on a future measure.
Core primary sources
The main Acts answer different parts of the building question.
Law of Property Act 1925
A foundational property statute covering legal estates, notices and other property-law machinery that can sit behind lease and title questions.
Open the Act →Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
Key residential provisions on service charges, reasonableness, information rights, consultation consequences and landlord details.
Open the Act →Landlord and Tenant Act 1987
Routes including right of first refusal, variation of leases, appointment of a manager, trust arrangements and service-address requirements.
Open the Act →1993 leasehold reform Act
The formal flat lease-extension and collective-enfranchisement framework, with eligibility, notice, valuation and procedure provisions.
Open the Act →Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002
The statutory Right to Manage framework, commonhold and important leasehold-management provisions.
Open the Act →Building Safety Act 2022
Building-safety duties, remediation and leaseholder-protection provisions. Scope depends on the building, defect, party and qualifying conditions.
Open the Act →Current reform control
Keep enacted, commenced and proposed measures separate.
Check each provision's commencement
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains major changes, but commencement is staged. Do not apply an uncommenced extension, valuation or service-charge measure as current law.
Find the operative detail
Prescribed forms, demand summaries, consultation schedules, building-safety detail and procedural rules often sit in secondary legislation.
Use official reform and guidance pages
Government announcements explain policy direction, but the enacted and commenced legislation remains the controlling source. Record the date checked.
Sources for this page
Open the law and guidance yourself.
Search the enacted text, amendments, commencement material and regulations.
↗Current reformLeasehold Advisory Service reform trackerA current independent explanation of which major leasehold reforms are and are not in force.
↗2024 ActLeasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024The enacted text, including commencement provisions and later changes.
↗Links and current-law position checked 18 August 2026. Apply the governing documents, building facts and current law to the case in front of you.
