Commonhold is coming, but will it drive standards up for managing agents?

Can it work now? Absolutely. A co-proprietor tenure is effective in most other countries, such as France, the USA, Australia, or closer to home in Scotland.

Will it happen? There have been a few false dawns that have bred deep scepticism in the housing and development sectors. The publication of the draft bill is a government statement of intent. There is also strong backbench support across all parties, and that leaves the government with little room for further delay.

If all goes well, commonhold could be the default tenure on the sale of new flats by the end of this decade. I would suggest, therefore, that the time for scepticism is over. It is time that we all start to prepare.

A useful consultation paper, issued alongside the draft bill, indicates that the impact will be negligible for some sectors, for example rental sectors such as social housing or build-to-rent. Besides these, the government indicates exemptions will be minimal.

“If all goes well, commonhold could be the default tenure on the sale of new flats by the end of this decade. I would suggest, therefore, that the time for scepticism is over. It is time that we all start to prepare”

For the development and housing management sectors, the unknown nature of commonhold may appear daunting, but both sectors have been adapting to the desire for more resident control over the past decade. Most large housing developers these days sell houses with 999-year leases, run by homeowners through resident management companies (RMCs), what the sector calls ‘commonhold-lite’.

The property management sector, which I represent, has experienced a sea change in homeowner-run blocks. About 60% of the buildings now managed by TPI members are under resident control or ownership, via RMCs or right-to-manage (RTM) companies, rather than owned by third-party landlords. A third of those blocks are owned by the residents, through collective enfranchisement.

The sector is therefore well used to working with homeowners on the management of their blocks.

The move to commonhold brings an associated issue into sharp focus which TPI, alongside many other stakeholders, has campaigned long and hard on: the regulation of managing agents, as recommended by the Regulation of Property Agents report produced by a working group chaired by Lord Best in 2019.

In a world where more homeowners are collectively choosing their managing agents, there should be some checks that those agents are qualified, competent and fit for purpose, rather than the current situation where effectively anyone can call themselves a property manager.

The recent building safety regulatory regime also highlighted the importance of owners and managers proving their competence. Should that seriously be left to anyone on the street?

The government has consulted on mandating qualifications in property management, and possibly also requiring continuing professional development (CPD) for the sector. At TPI, we welcome this proposal. It is a step already taken in the social housing sector, where mandatory qualifications for senior staff were introduced in October 2025.

“The government has consulted on mandating qualifications in property management, and possibly also requiring continuing professional development for the sector. It is a step already taken in the social housing sector”

The government has suggested it could mandate qualifications in property management through an arm’s-length arrangement, working with designated professional bodies. TPI might be one, should we be invited. TPI has invested heavily in a range of Ofqual-accredited and constantly updated qualifications and CPD for the profession. Mandating qualifications is not part of the draft bill though, but we hope it will be part of a full bill to follow.

The draft bill is being scrutinised by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee. This may pave the way for a full bill in the King’s Speech, and its publication in the second half of this year.

Of course, just because we may get a workable commonhold tenure, that doesn’t mean leasehold will disappear. A sizeable part of the existing leasehold sector will either choose not to convert, nor wish to spend the money on doing so, even with a lower threshold of a simple majority of qualifying leaseholders. Many property managers will therefore have to become experts in operating in both tenures.

The legislative process provides time for the professions, businesses and individuals who are impacted by commonhold to prepare. We must all use our time wisely.

In moving to a model where more homeowners will be running their blocks, there is a compelling case to mandate qualifications for managing agents, and to regulate our profession.

Andrew Bulmer, chief executive, The Property Institute