Welcome to Syd and Emma!
13/01/2026
We are delighted to start the year with not one, but two, new team members! Syd and Emma joined the team in Wales today, working with Mari and Victoria in particular. Full profiles will follow shortly.
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13/01/2026
We are delighted to start the year with not one, but two, new team members! Syd and Emma joined the team in Wales today, working with Mari and Victoria in particular. Full profiles will follow shortly.
05/01/2026
We wish all our clients and contacts a Happy New Year! The office is now open again, and back to business as usual. It will no doubt be a busy year for the reforms, with multiple updates from the Government during the last working week of December.
19/12/2025
The draft commonhold bill was promised by the end of 2025, with many eagerly holding out for the bill. Immediately before Parliamentary recess commenced yesterday, the Government formally wrote to the HCLG Committee, to explain that the bill would not now be forthcoming this year, but would follow early in the new year. The HCLG Committee Chair has issued a response to that letter. The letter to the HCLG Committee and the Chair’s response can be found here.
18/12/2025
The Government’s remediation acceleration plan, which sets out how the Government intends to ensure all buildings are remediated promptly, has been updated today with release of vital data on cladding removal costs. This follows an announcement earlier this year that there would likely be a Remediation Bill in 2026 to strengthen the remediation acceleration plan. The update can be found here.
18/12/2025
Following Royal Assent in October, the Government has today published comprehensive guidance on implementation of the Act for landlords and letting agents. The bulk of these changes will mandatorily commence on 01 May 2026, so issuing the guidance early should help landlords and letting agents start preparing for the change. The full guidance can be found here.
18/12/2025
Today saw two consultations launched by the Government in respect of freehold estates. The first consultation sets out details of how the Government intends to implement Part 5 of Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which concerns improved management and better transparency for those living on an unadopted estate. The second consultation sets out proposals to tackle unadopted estates more widely, and which follows the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation in 2024. The first consultation can be found here and the second consultation here.
15/12/2025
The Government has today launched a consultation on giving leaseholders the right to demand broadband upgrades in their building. This consultation seeks to strengthen existing legislation that allows leaseholders to request broadband upgrades. The consultation will run until 16 February 2026, and full details can be found here.
28/11/2025
We are thrilled to announce the opening of our Sussex office on 08 December 2025. We will be based at The Foundry, 3 Ellen Street, Hove, BN3 3LN, close to Hove station. The branch’s office hours will be 9 – 17.30 Monday to Friday and the Sussex Team can be contacted on 01273 839 555 or by email here.
24/11/2025
As the draft commonhold bill approaches, Mari is delighted to be joining Professor Nick Hopkins at University College London on 09 December 2025 for an academic debate on commonhold. Full details and tickets can be found here.
17/11/2025
Our offices will be closed from 12pm on Wednesday 24 December until 10am on Monday 05 January this year. We thank you for your patience.
06/11/2025
The Renters’ Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 27 October 2025 and became an Act. Critically for conveyancers, section 31 of the RRA, which addresses the “Housing Act ground rent trap”, will commence on 27 December 2025. Conveyancers will however still need to wait for lenders to update their ground rent policies following commencement. The new Decent Homes Standards for private landlords will also impact leasehold buildings, and we await further details on this in due course. Government guidance on the Act can be found here.
27/10/2025
Mari will be going on tour in Spring 2026 for CPD provider, Professional Conferences. The residential conveyancing locations include Bristol, London, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, details of which can be found here. Mari will also be speaking at the landlord and tenant virtual conference on 24 February 2026, details of which can be found here.
10/10/2025
We are heading to London next week for conference week. Mari will be speaking for MBL to residential conveyancers on common leasehold conveyancing pitfalls on Tuesday. Mari will then be speaking at ALEP on Wednesday then The Property Institute on Thursday, both on the topic of commonhold. Various team members will be joining Mari in London. We look forward to seeing those of you who are attending!
06/10/2025
First off the reform-block this Autumn is conveyancing! Today, the Government has released a consultation on overhauling residential conveyancing, with a deadline of 29 December 2025 for responses. The consultation sets out key proposals for conveyancing reforms, including digitalisation, front-loading key conveyancing documents and better transparency. It also includes questions relating to the leasehold sales information pack, which has already been legislated on in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 but not yet commenced. The full consultation can be found here.
01/10/2025
It promises to be a busy Autumn on the reforms front this year. When piecing together the various commitments made by the Government, we are hoping to see a plethora of updates this Autumn. This includes the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, and key consultations on Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act, such as on enfranchisement valuation and freehold estates. The service charge consultation ended last week, with the buildings insurance commission consultation having ended earlier this year, leading to speculation about secondary legislation implementing both policy areas soon. There are also numerous net zero projects on the go, with both live consultations and consultations promised, all of which impact multi-unit buildings. The Renters Rights Bill is in the final stages too. Watch this space for regular updates!
25/09/2025
This is Money has released a detailed article about resident management companies today, and whether or not existing members of the company should allow non-members into the company. This is an increasingly common question, with advantages and disadvantages. Working with ALEP, Mari contributed to the article, which can be read in full here.
05/09/2025
The Renters Rights Bill will be back in the Commons on Monday for consideration of the amendments made in the Lords. This may well be the final stage of the Bill, before it gets Royal Assent. The Act will then need to be commenced. The Bill details can be found here.
01/09/2025
Mari is delighted to be speaking again at this year’s annual Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners Conference (ALEP) on 15 October 2025. Mari will be speaking alongside James Fieldsend, barrister from Tanfield Chambers, on commonhold conversions, with advice for lawyers and valuers on the new proposals. Booking details can be found here.
26/08/2025
We are back after a very welcome week off for the Team. It promises to be a busy Autumn, with a long list of outstanding reform updates from the Government due, such as the consultation on enfranchisement valuation and freehold estates, implementation of LFRA and the eagerly awaited draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill. The deadline for the live service charge consultation is also fast-approaching on 26 September 2025.
08/08/2025
Our offices will be closed for a week commencing on Monday 18 August and re-opening on Tuesday 26 August. During the week of the office closure, emails and the telephone will not be monitored. In the case of an emergency, please email advice@commonlease.co.uk. Any emails sent to this address that are not urgent will be dealt with when the office re-opens. We thank you for your patience and understanding.
04/07/2025
The consultation on service charges promises a significant overhaul of the service charge regime for leaseholders. We will be running a free webinar via News on the Block at 11am on Thursday 10 July to talk through the consultation and next steps. Details of that webinar can be found here. We will also be running a free webinar via the National Leasehold Campaign Group for leaseholders, details of which can be found on the NLC website.
04/07/2025
The Government has today launched a ground-breaking consultation on service charge reforms for leaseholders. The consultation forms two parts. The first looks at detailed proposals for implementation of new leaseholder rights set out in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The second looks at further possible reforms, including major works, managing agent reform, and further new leaseholder rights. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 26 September 2025, details of which can be found here.
02/07/2025
The Government has today launched an important consultation on the proposed new decent homes standards for private rented properties. The Renters Rights Bill, currently going through the legislative process, proposes to ensure that all private-rented sector properties are brought within the scope of existing Decent Homes Standards. Those standards will also be improved. The consultation sets out the proposals in detail. It also contains questions on the impact of the reforms on leasehold properties, where there are often lease constraints on carrying out works to flats. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 10 September 2025, details of which can be found here.
27/06/2025
We are hugely excited to have won both “Conveyancer of the Year” Award and “Solicitors Firm of the Year” Award at the Apartment Adviser Awards this year. The ceremony was hosted in Park Lane by News on the Block, who did a marvellous job of organising the event.
24/06/2025
As the reforms start to ramp up, we will be hosting a series of webinars in the upcoming months. This includes a dedicated updates session for leaseholders, a series for managing agents and personalised sessions for resident-owned or managed landlords. We will update this page soon with dates and booking information.
