When people talk about the King’s Speech, they often mix it up with the Christmas Address or the film starring Colin Firth. But we’ve just had the actual King’s Speech – the parliamentary kind – this week on Wednesday 13 May. And if you’re a landlord, a seller, or just considering your next move here in Edgware, it matters more than you might think.
What is the King’s Speech?
Every year, at the start of a new parliamentary session, the King addresses the House of Lords, reading out a speech written entirely by the government – its official ‘to-do list’, dressed in ermine and delivered from a gilded throne.
Unlike a manifesto promise, the bills named in the King’s Speech are those the government is formally committing to introduce. It’s as close to a guarantee as politics allows.
But I have heard an obvious question raised more than once this week: does any of it matter, given the swirling speculation about a Labour leadership contest? To illustrate just how fast things are moving, when I sat down to write this, Wes Streeting was still Health Secretary; by the time I had got this far, he had resigned, and the expectation that Keir Starmer will face a leadership challenge very soon is getting ever higher.
Nevertheless, the answer is: yes, it still matters. And more on that shortly.
What was said in the King’s Speech 2026?
Much of this year’s speech focused on security and economic matters. But two pieces of legislation were explicitly named that bear directly on the property market.
The Social Housing Renewal Bill
The government has pledged legislation to “increase long-term investment in social housing.” The chronic shortage of affordable homes pushes more people into the private rented sector, sustaining landlord demand – but also driving up rents and, in turn, house prices. Over time, if the bill works as intended, it will ease that pressure. Nobody should expect overnight change, but the direction of travel matters. It’s something we feel strongly about at Petermans, which is why we’ve established Petermans Housing Initiatives to help address the issue directly.
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill
This is the bill that warrants the closest attention if you own a leasehold flat or, indeed, a freehold apartment building.
Here is what King Charles said in his speech on Wednesday:
“My Ministers will bring forward legislation to… reform the leasehold system, including the capping of ground rents.”
Ground rent reform has been promised for years. This bill signals a firmer push. If you own a leasehold flat – particularly one with a ‘doubling’ ground rent clause – this is potentially very good news. Those clauses are, in ever-greater numbers, making affected properties more difficult to obtain a mortgage on and, therefore, more difficult to sell. Capping ground rent at £250 could unlock a large section of this market, particularly important in London.
What is Commonhold?
Commonhold is a form of flat ownership where you own your unit outright and share ownership of the building with your neighbours, rather than holding a lease from a landlord. It eliminates ground rent and gives residents collective control.
It has existed in England and Wales since 2002, but was so poorly designed that fewer than 20 commonhold developments exist across the country. This bill aims to make it workable, finally, and over time, the default way to own a flat.
Why the King’s Speech matters for property in Edgware
Here in Edgware, over 33% of housing is flats and apartments – most of them leasehold. Leasehold apartments also make up a large proportion of the new homes planned as part of the Broadwalk regeneration. Across Greater London as a whole, 54% of properties are flats; many have seen leases fall below 70 years, or ground rents double or escalate in ways that mortgage lenders will no longer accept without a deed of variation.
These are issues that make affected properties harder to sell. Capping ground rent at £250 – as the proposed bill intends – could help a significant portion of our local market become unstuck.
Beyond housing, the wider speech framed everything through “economic security” – deliberate language signalling stability, controlled spending, and infrastructure investment. Falling inflation and stable interest rates are the two factors most likely to move the market over the next two years. A government committed to that environment is signalling predictability to the mortgage markets, which is no small thing.
Will leasehold reform still happen if Labour gets a new leader?
In short, yes. The King’s Speech belongs to the government, not the Prime Minister personally. A new leader inherits the parliamentary mandate – the MPs, the majority, the manifesto commitments. Scrapping popular legislation like leasehold reform, which helped Labour win power, would be politically costly – and you get the sense that the incumbent party of government wants to avoid alienating their base electorate right now.
After Liz Truss was replaced, some of her policies were reversed or scrapped by Rishi Sunak’s government. But that comparison doesn’t apply here: those reversals followed an economic crisis of the government’s own making. Leasehold reform and social housing investment are not in that category. If anything, they are safer under a leadership change than a Budget measure would be.
The practical takeaway
Current political uncertainty is not a reason to delay your property decisions. The King’s Speech represents a genuine parliamentary commitment to reform the housing sector for the better. A leadership change could slow things down – but these particular ambitions are unlikely to be stopped.
Our advice: plan around this legislation as if it will happen – because, broadly speaking, it will.
As ever, we’re here to talk through what any of this means for your property or your plans. Send us a note, give us a call, or just drop in – the door is always open.