# Cap ground rents at £250 a year

> “Good news for homeowners, we’re capping ground rent at £250. That means if you are a leaseholder, and your ground rent is more than £250, you’ll be paying less.”
>
> — Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister, Labour Party; Press release (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Prime Minister's Office), 27 January 2026

- **Status:** In plan
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Housing & environment](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/housing-and-environment)
- **Speaker:** [Sir Keir Starmer](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/keir-starmer), Prime Minister
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 27 January 2026
- **Where:** Press release (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Prime Minister's Office)
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** Leaseholders in England and Wales paying ground rent above £250 a year
- **When:** Not stated by the Prime Minister; the government said the cap could come into force in late 2028
- **Paid for by:** Not a spending pledge
- **Quote source:** https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-were-capping-ground-rents-at-250 (checked word for word at its source on 20 October 2026; Open Government Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 21 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-ground-rent-cap-250-2026

## Where it stands

The cap is in the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, published on 27 January 2026: £250 a year, falling to a peppercorn after 40 years, for leaseholders in England and Wales. The King's Speech of 13 May 2026 named the Bill, including the capping of ground rents, and the Leader of the House said on 10 September 2026 that it will be introduced; by 20 October 2026 it had not been. The government said the cap could come into force in late 2028, subject to parliamentary timings. The card moves to Legislated when the Bill becomes law.

## Timeline

- 27 January 2026, Promised: The Prime Minister announces a £250 cap on ground rents in a video on TikTok
- 27 January 2026, In plan: The government publishes the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill with the cap ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-commonhold-and-leasehold-reform-bill))

## About the cost

No cost to the taxpayer: the cap moves money from freeholders to leaseholders. The announcement says many leaseholders will save over £4,000 over the course of their lease.

## Sources

- [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Prime Minister's Office: PM: “We're capping ground rents at £250” (27 Jan 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-were-capping-ground-rents-at-250)
- [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill (27 Jan 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-commonhold-and-leasehold-reform-bill)
- [Prime Minister's Office: The King's Speech 2026 (13 May 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-kings-speech-2026)
- [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Quid pro quo leases and the ground rent cap (consultation, 2 Jul 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/quid-pro-quo-leases-and-the-ground-rent-cap)
- [Hansard, House of Commons, 10 Sep 2026: Business of the House](https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-09-10/debates/F6E9AB72-395B-4C77-9643-084029ACC336/BusinessOfTheHouse)

## Checks

- Verified by Pavel Guzhikov, checked by AI Journalist; approved on 21 October 2026.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 20 October 2026.

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