The Changing Leasehold Landscape: How Block Management Must Adapt

While headlines often centre on legislation, the most significant changes affecting block management are not limited to new laws alone. They are cultural, operational and already underway.

Expectations around transparency, accountability and explanation have been rising for several years. Leasehold reform is accelerating those expectations, not creating them from scratch. For managing agents, the challenge is not simply compliance, it is adaptation.

Ground Rent Caps Signal a Shift in Direction

The proposal to cap ground rents at £250 reflects a broader shift in how leasehold arrangements are viewed. While the practical detail will continue to develop, the direction of travel is clear: costs that feel opaque, unjustified or disconnected from service are increasingly being challenged.

For block management, this reinforces a wider expectation that charges and decisions must be clearly explained, defensible and aligned with resident experience.

Ground rent reform may not directly change day-to-day management overnight, but it contributes to a growing focus on fairness, value and transparency across residential property.

Commonhold Is Back on the Agenda Gradually

Alongside ground rent reform, renewed government support for commonhold signals a longer-term ambition to reshape residential ownership models.

Commonhold is unlikely to replace leasehold at scale in the immediate future. However, its re-emergence is important because it reflects changing attitudes toward control, accountability and resident involvement.

For managing agents, this points to a future where engagement, clarity and governance play an even more central role regardless of tenure structure.

Leasehold Change Is About Expectation as Much as Law

While legislation sets the framework, day-to-day experience is shaped by how buildings are managed.

Freeholders and residents are more engaged, more informed and more willing to question decisions. This is not necessarily a sign of dissatisfaction. In many cases, it reflects increased interest in how buildings operate, how costs are controlled and how decisions are made.

Managing agents who respond defensively to this engagement risk losing trust. Those who respond with clarity and confidence strengthen it.

Transparency Has Become a Baseline Requirement

What was once considered “good communication” is now the minimum standard.

Providing information without explanation no longer satisfies stakeholders who want to understand the reasoning behind decisions. Service charges, maintenance priorities and contractor selection are all subject to greater scrutiny.

Transparency today means explaining not just what is happening, but why it is happening and how decisions support long-term building performance.

Accountability Is Moving Centre Stage

As scrutiny increases, accountability becomes more important.

Managing agents must be able to demonstrate who is responsible for decisions, how those decisions are governed and how they are reviewed. Informal processes that relied on trust alone are becoming harder to sustain.

Clear documentation, structured approvals and consistent reporting are now essential parts of modern block management.

Resident Engagement Is Changing the Dynamic

Residents are no longer passive recipients of management decisions. They expect communication, responsiveness and clarity.

This does not mean managing agents must accommodate every request. It means priorities must be explained clearly and expectations managed effectively.

Good engagement reduces conflict and builds confidence, even when decisions are challenged.

Why Management Models Must Adapt

Traditional block management models were not designed for this level of visibility.

Reactive communication, siloed decision-making and minimal documentation struggle under modern scrutiny. Adaptation requires investment in systems, governance and training, but also a shift in mindset.

The focus must move from simply managing issues to managing understanding.

The Glide Response to a Changing Landscape

At Glide, the changing leasehold landscape is approached proactively.

Clear communication, structured decision-making and accountability are embedded into everyday management. Rather than reacting to reform, Glide’s model aligns with it, supporting clients through change while maintaining confidence and consistency.

Leasehold reform is not a disruption for block management. It is a signal that expectations have changed.

Managing agents who adapt early will be best positioned for the future.