Real Estate/News
England to license property agents and cap leaseholders' permission fees, government confirms
MHCLG says agents will need a licence and qualifications under an independent regulator, and landlords' permission and admin fees will be capped. No bill, no date: 'as soon as possible'.
By Daily Aletheia · Checked against the primary source · 30 September 2026 · 2 min read
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said on 29 September that it will legislate to give the Secretary of State powers to cap the fees leaseholders pay for a landlord's permission - for keeping a pet, for example - and the administrative fees charged for providing documents or noting a change of mortgage provider.
What the page says
The caps will also cover privately managed freehold estates, where homeowners can face similar charges for minor cosmetic changes. A public consultation will set the scope of what is capped and the amount for each item.
Separately, and "for the first time ever", the government intends to introduce independent regulation of property agents. A regulator would set codes of practice, including standards of conduct and complaint handling; agents would need a licence and appropriate qualifications to operate, and the regulator could take a licence away.
The department says the measures support "over 5 million existing leaseholders and future homeowners".
What it does not say
There is no bill named, no timetable and no detail of who the regulator would be. The page commits to bringing the changes forward "as soon as possible" and to "more information in due course". Trade coverage attributes the pledge to speeches at the Labour Party conference; the government's own page names no speaker.