What does the King’s Speech mean for landlords?

Housing reform was included in the King’s Speech as part of the State Opening of Parliament and will be of interest landlords. The Leasehold and Freehold Bill will ban leaseholds for new houses but not new flats in England and Wales. Reforms include making it easier to buy the freehold of a property or extend its lease and increase the standard lease extension period to 990 years. Ground rents will also be capped at 0.1% of the freehold value. It has already been announced that the Renters [Reform) Bill will only deliver the promised ban on no fault evictions when the court service, currently experiencing severe backlogs, is reformed. And the previous government requirement for landlords to upgrade their properties to an EPC C rating by 2025 on new tenancies and 2028 for all tenancies has been scrapped. Although there is still an obligation for landlords to make their properties more energy efficient.