Navigating Leasehold Reform: Beever and Struthers leads the way in service charge assurance

As we enter our second year as partners of the National Leasehold Group (NLG), we’re proud to continue supporting housing providers as their lead service charge assurance provider. With specialist training, tailored consultancy and practical support, our team is helping landlords prepare for the changes ahead – including the landmark Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

We’ll be attending the NLG Manchester Conference in June and the Milton Keynes Conference in July, where our specialist Service Charge Assurance team will be on hand to share insights, answer questions and discuss how the sector can respond to new responsibilities with confidence.

What’s changing for landlords?

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which received Royal Assent in May, introduces major changes for leasehold management in England and Wales, including:

• Stronger rights for leaseholders to extend leases or buy their freehold.
• More flexible qualifying criteria for lease extensions and enfranchisement.
• Greater access to redress schemes and timely property sales information.
• Crucially, new rights to information and improved transparency of service charges.

While much of the Act is not yet in force and will require secondary legislation, the direction of travel is clear: landlords will soon be required to provide service charge information in a specified form, accompanied by a written report from a qualified accountant.

This significantly raises the bar from the current requirements under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, shifting the emphasis from reactive, on-request summaries to routine, regulated financial statements – supported by professional scrutiny.

How does this affect housing associations?

This reform has serious operational implications for housing associations. As expectations for transparency rise, so does the need for clear, auditable systems. Key questions for providers now include:

• Do you have the systems and processes in place to generate timely, accurate service charge information at scale?
• Are you currently aligned with ICAEW Technical Release 03/11 and NHF best practice?
• Can you identify and resolve bottlenecks in how service charge data is prepared and reported?
• Are your communications with leaseholders clear, consistent, and evidently fair?
• Have your statements been subject to external review – and are improvements being actioned?

The expectations set out in the Act – particularly under Sections 53–58 – mean that robust, transparent service charge reporting will no longer be a “nice to have”, but a statutory requirement.

We’re here to help you prepare

With more than 100,000 residents supported annually through our service charge examination services, our team is already helping landlords across the country prepare for these changes – from reviewing systems and processes, to training staff, and carrying out independent reviews.

“These reforms put leaseholders’ rights front and centre – and rightly so,” says Michael Tourville, Partner and National Head of Service Charges. “But they also put pressure on housing associations to ensure their service charge systems are watertight. That’s where we come in.”

“We’re proud to be supporting the NLG and its members through this transition,” adds Maria Hallows, Executive Partner and Head of Social Housing. “Our team’s combination of technical expertise and sector experience means we’re perfectly placed to help housing providers meet these new standards head-on.”

“Beever and Struthers are a trusted and established partner to our members,” says Alan Wake, CEO of the NLG. “Their expertise has already added huge value – and with the Reform Act now in play, their support will be more important than ever.”

Click here for more information on how we are supporting the NLG.