You have found a flat you like. The agent says the ground rent is "only £350 a year, and the government is capping it anyway". Both halves of that sentence deserve a second look. Leasehold reform has been announced, consulted on, passed, partly switched on and partly parked, all inside four years, and the version on the news is rarely the one that applies to the lease your solicitor is about to read.
What did the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 change?
Since 30 June 2022, most new long residential leases in England and Wales can charge no more than a peppercorn in ground rent, which in practice means nothing. Retirement housing followed on 1 April 2023. A landlord who charges more can be fined between £500 and £30,000 per lease.
That is the only ground rent cap in force, and it only touches leases granted after those dates. A lease granted in 2015 at £350 a year, rising every ten years, is untouched. If the flat was built in 2023 or later, the ground rent should already be zero. If it is not, ask why.
Is there a cap on existing ground rents yet?
Not yet. The government consulted on capping existing ground rents between November 2023 and January 2024, with options from a peppercorn to £250 a year. A cap did not make it into the 2024 Act. In late 2025 the government said it would legislate for one through a Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill. Until that is passed and commenced, your lender will read the lease as written, not the press release.
What has the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 switched on?
The Act got Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, but most of it needs regulations before it does anything. Commenced so far: the two year ownership rule was abolished on 31 January 2025, so a buyer can start a lease extension or freehold purchase claim straight after completion. Changes to right to manage costs followed on 3 March 2025.
What has not: the 990 year lease extension (up from 90 years for flats and 50 for houses), the abolition of marriage value on leases under 80 years, and the new valuation method that goes with them. These depend on regulations held up by a judicial review brought by freeholders. If the lease is at 82 years, the old rules apply and the clock is ticking.
Why do lenders refuse doubling clauses?
A ground rent that doubles every ten years turns £250 into £16,000 a year after 60 years. Many lenders will not lend where ground rent is more than 0.1% of the property's value or escalates too steeply, and several refuse doubling clauses outright. A flat you cannot mortgage is a flat you cannot sell to most buyers.
Some developers gave undertakings to the Competition and Markets Authority between 2019 and 2023 to convert doubling clauses to fixed or inflation linked rents. Whether your flat was one of them is a matter of record, not memory.
What should I ask now rather than wait for reform?
Ask the agent for the lease length, the current ground rent and the date of the next review, in writing. Then ask your solicitor: "Does the ground rent double, and how often?" "Is a deed of variation registered on the title?" "Will my lender accept this ground rent as it stands?" "If I extended the lease under the current rules, roughly what would it cost, and does that get worse below 80 years?" Ask the managing agent for three years of service charge accounts. Reform may make this cheaper one day. You are buying today.
How Eavesdrop checks this
Eavesdrop reads the Land Registry title register for the lease term and the freeholder's name, Companies House for who sits behind that name, and First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decisions involving the block or the freeholder, each fact cited [check: freeholder]. Before you offer. Before you sign. Eavesdrop.
Quick answers
Is ground rent capped in the UK? For new leases in England and Wales, yes: a peppercorn since 30 June 2022. For existing leases, no cap is in force yet, though the government has said it will legislate for one.
Has the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 come into force? Partly. The two year ownership rule for extensions was scrapped on 31 January 2025, but the 990 year extension and the end of marriage value are still waiting on regulations.
Can I get a mortgage on a flat with a doubling ground rent? Often not. Many lenders refuse leases where the ground rent is more than 0.1% of the property's value, or doubles too often, so ask your solicitor and broker before you commit to a survey.
Sources: Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022; Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and its commencement regulations; UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook; Competition and Markets Authority leasehold investigation undertakings.
