See which protections apply to your charge now and from 2027, and generate a request letter.
Regulations laid on 12 November 2026 set new start dates for service charge, insurance and legal-cost rules. Check which apply to your charge, then build a letter asking your landlord for the information.
Tick what you want to ask for and fill in your details. The letter is built in your browser and nothing is sent or stored. Your details are never added to the copy link.
On 12 November 2026 the government laid five sets of regulations under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, setting three commencement dates for the service charge reforms: 1 April 2027, 1 November 2027 and 1 November 2028. The checker takes the date of your demand, policy renewal or request and says, for each protection, whether it applies on that date or when it starts. Use a future date to see what will apply then.
If you enter an insurance premium and the commission or fees your landlord or agent received, it shows the commission as a percentage of the premium and the amount that could no longer be passed on from 1 November 2027. If you enter the date a cost was incurred and the date it was demanded, it checks the current 18-month rule. It does not decide whether your charge is reasonable, which only the First-tier Tribunal can do.
The letter generator builds a request for information you can already ask for under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. It runs in your browser, nothing is stored or sent, and your details are never put in the shareable link.
| Start date | What changes | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 2027 | Right to request service charge information, including earlier years; legal costs generally not recoverable without court or tribunal approval (not for proceedings issued before this date); future demand notice replaces the 18-month notice; fixed service charges brought into the new rules | All landlords |
| 1 November 2027 | Insurance commission cannot be passed on, only permitted insurance payments; insurance disclosure document at each purchase or renewal; schedule of administration charges; standard demands, accounts and annual reports | Insurance and administration rules: all landlords. Standard demands, accounts and reports: private landlords |
| 1 November 2028 | Standard demands, accounts and annual reports extend to social landlords | Councils and housing associations |
| Question | Today | After the reforms |
|---|---|---|
| Can I see the accounts? | Yes: summary of costs and inspection of receipts under sections 21 and 22 of the 1985 Act | Wider statutory right to request information, including previous years, from 1 April 2027 |
| Can the landlord charge me insurance commission? | Not banned; disclosure rules apply and an unreasonable charge can be challenged | Cannot be passed on from 1 November 2027; only permitted insurance payments |
| Can the landlord add its legal costs? | Possible under some leases; you can apply to limit it (section 20C) | Generally needs court or tribunal approval from 1 April 2027 |
| Can an old cost be demanded? | Generally not after 18 months unless notice was given | Future demand notice replaces the 18-month notice from 1 April 2027 |
Source for the new start dates: The Property Institute summary of the regulations. The regulations are subject to Parliamentary approval, and we have not yet read their full text.
Sources
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Leaseholders get a statutory right to request service charge information, including from earlier years. Landlords generally cannot recover legal costs through service or administration charges without court or tribunal approval, for proceedings issued from that date. A prescribed future demand notice replaces the current 18-month notice for costs demanded late. The regulations were laid on 12 November 2026 and are subject to Parliamentary approval.
Insurance commissions can no longer be passed on, only permitted insurance payments are recoverable, and a disclosure document is needed at each purchase or renewal. Landlords must publish a schedule of administration charges. Standardised demands, accounts and annual reports start for private landlords. Councils and housing associations follow on 1 November 2028 for the demand, accounts and report rules.
The commission itself is not yet banned, but you can ask for a breakdown, and you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) if you think the insurance charge is unreasonable. The checker shows what the position will be after 1 November 2027.
No. It is a plain template that asks for information leaseholders can already request under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Check the wording against your lease, and take advice before relying on it in a dispute. It is not legal advice.
Yes. The new rules cover existing leases from the day each change takes effect. We have not confirmed how they treat charges for earlier periods, so assume a charge for an earlier year may stay under the old rules until you have checked the regulations.
This calculator was built and is maintained by Rahul Tandon, an independent web developer and researcher. It applies published statutory rules and the 5% Sportelli deferment rate, and every assumption is shown on this page. The formulas and limits are on the methodology page; see our editorial policy. LeaseVault is not a law firm, a surveying practice or a mortgage broker, and the result is an estimate for initial budgeting, not legal, financial or valuation advice.
We’ll notify you when 2024 Act provisions come into force and when new premium rates are confirmed.