Charged a fee just to keep a cat? Those charges are about to be capped
What happened
On 29 September 2026, the government confirmed new rules to give leaseholders more rights and better protections. The problem it describes will be familiar to anyone who owns a flat. Under the current system, leaseholders and people living on freehold estates can be made to pay a fee simply to get their landlord's permission for a straightforward request. Keeping a pet is the example the government uses. There is no certainty about what such a fee will cost, and no clear oversight of how the decision is made. The government will legislate to give the Secretary of State powers to cap those permission fees at a level that is genuinely reasonable, and which landlords must follow. The same powers will cover privately managed estates, where homeowners can face similar charges for minor cosmetic changes to their own property. The changes go further than permission fees. They will also allow a clampdown on administrative fees: charges for providing documents on request, or even for simply telling the landlord you have changed mortgage provider. A public consultation will be launched on what should be capped, and at what level. Separately, and for the first time, the government intends to introduce independent regulation of property agents.
Why this matters
There are more than five million leaseholders in England and Wales, and the government says these measures will support them along with future homeowners. Leasehold has a particular kind of unfairness built into it. You own your home, but you need someone else's permission for things most homeowners would never think twice about. Painting a front door. Putting down a different floor. Getting a dog. Permission is often reasonable. The fee for asking is where it goes wrong. Because there is no cap and no oversight, the charge can be whatever the landlord or managing agent decides. And because you cannot go elsewhere, there is no competitive pressure to keep it honest. Administrative fees have the same shape. Being charged for a copy of a document you are entitled to, or for notifying a change of mortgage lender, is the sort of thing people pay because arguing costs more than the fee. The property agent regulation is arguably the bigger story. Managing agents currently need no licence and no qualification to take charge of the building you live in, collect your service charge and decide what gets repaired. Estate agents and letting agents operate under similarly light-touch rules. Under the plan, agents would need a licence and appropriate qualifications, and a regulator could set codes of practice covering standards of conduct and complaint handling. If an agent falls short, the regulator would be able to take the licence away.
What the evidence actually says
This is a statement of intent with real substance behind it, but the detail is genuinely not settled yet, and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise. What is confirmed: the government will legislate to create the power to cap permission fees and clamp down on administrative fees, and it intends to introduce independent regulation of property agents. What is not confirmed: which fees will be capped, what the caps will be, when the regulator will exist, who will run it, or what the qualification requirement will look like in practice. The government says a public consultation will be launched on the scope and the amounts, and that it will set out more information in due course. That consultation is the part worth watching. Caps work when they are set at a level that reflects the actual cost of doing the work. Set too high, they become a target rather than a limit, and fees that used to be modest drift upwards to meet them. The government describes the measures as fundamentally rewiring homeownership. That is a large claim for changes whose numbers are not yet written. The direction is clear; the effect will depend on figures nobody has published.
Practical advice
While the detail is being worked out, there are things worth doing now. - Read your lease. Not the summary, the actual document. It sets out what you need permission for and what the landlord may charge. Many people have never read theirs. - Keep a record of every fee you are charged, with dates and what it was for. If caps arrive, evidence of what you were previously charged is useful. - Challenge fees you think are unreasonable. Leaseholders can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) on certain charges, and the Leasehold Advisory Service offers free advice. - Ask your managing agent which redress scheme they belong to. Agents handling property are generally required to be members of one, and it gives you a complaints route that costs nothing. - Take part in the consultation when it opens. Consultations on leasehold are usually dominated by landlords and agents, for the simple reason that it is their job to respond and it is not yours. A short reply describing a real fee you were charged carries weight. - If you are buying a leasehold property, ask the seller for a schedule of the permission and admin fees the freeholder or agent has charged in the past three years.
What to know
The government confirmed on 29 September 2026 that it will legislate to let the Secretary of State cap the fees leaseholders and freehold estate residents pay for landlord permissions, such as keeping a pet, and to clamp down on administrative fees like charges for documents or for notifying a change of mortgage provider. The powers will also cover privately managed estates. For the first time, property agents will face independent regulation: licensing, qualifications, codes of practice on conduct and complaint handling, and the possibility of losing a licence. A public consultation on what is capped and at what level is to be launched. The government says the measures will support more than five million existing leaseholders, and that it will bring the changes forward as soon as possible. Sources: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, "Government goes further to protect leaseholders", 29 September 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-goes-further-to-protect-leaseholders. GOV.UK, "Leasehold property" guide, https://www.gov.uk/leasehold-property. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, accompanying detail on capping permission and administrative fees and licensing property agents, 29 September 2026. This article is for general information. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you have a dispute about service charges, permission fees or your lease, seek advice from a qualified solicitor or from the Leasehold Advisory Service.
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