Leasehold Reform Bill: Kent Flat Owners Set to Gain Right to Request Gigabit Broadband

A Problem Many Kent Flat Owners Know Well

If you live in a leasehold flat in Maidstone, Folkestone, Margate or Canterbury, you’ll know this one. You want faster broadband. The provider’s ready to install it. Your freeholder says no — and that’s that. Under current arrangements, a single refusal can kill the whole thing stone dead.

That’s the situation the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill is designed to fix. The legislation, currently working its way through Parliament, would hand leaseholders in residential blocks a formal legal right to request a gigabit-capable broadband connection — download speeds of around 1,000 Mbps — from their freeholder. And freeholders would be placed under a duty not to unreasonably refuse. Which, you’d hope, wouldn’t need spelling out. But here we are.

How the New Right Would Actually Work

The right would apply to buildings containing two or more residential leases, where each lease was originally granted for more than 21 years and is used primarily as a home. Your typical block of flats in Dartford, Ashford or Gravesend would qualify.

Leaseholders wouldn’t need to renegotiate their contracts to benefit, either — the right would be implied into existing leases automatically, which removes a hefty practical hurdle. To use it, you’d make a formal written request to your freeholder specifying that you’re asking for a gigabit-capable connection to your property.

But there’s a caveat worth understanding properly. The right protects leaseholders against unreasonable refusal; it doesn’t oblige freeholders to fund or arrange the upgrade themselves. Broadband operators would still need to negotiate their own access agreements with building owners under the Electronic Communications Code. A meaningful step forward, then — but not quite a guaranteed outcome.

Wider Reforms Coming for Leasehold Flat Owners

The broadband right sits within a much larger package of leasehold changes.

Ground rents would be capped at £250 per year from 2028 under Government proposals. A full commonhold ownership model — where residents collectively control their building — is likely to become available from 2029, starting with new flats before being extended to existing leaseholders. The Bill also aims to make lease extensions and freehold purchases cheaper and less painful, and to introduce stronger protections against losing your home over relatively small debts through the forfeiture process.

Housing and consumer advocates broadly welcome the direction of travel, though some are pressing for clear guidance on what actually counts as an unreasonable refusal — and on how leaseholders can challenge freeholders who dig their heels in without good reason. The difference between a right to request and a guaranteed service is not a small one.

What It Could Mean Across Kent

For the thousands of people living in leasehold flats across Kent’s town centres and coastal communities — Ramsgate and Whitstable to Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells — decent connectivity isn’t a luxury. Many residents work from home, run small businesses from their flats, or rely on fast internet for NHS online services and council digital portals. And in areas where mobile signal is patchy at best, a blocked broadband upgrade isn’t a minor inconvenience.

Kent County Council’s own broadband and digital inclusion work may also need to account for a surge in demand as more blocks seek gigabit upgrades under the new framework.

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Key Takeaways

• Leaseholders in qualifying residential blocks would gain a legal right to request gigabit-capable broadband (around 1,000 Mbps), with freeholders unable to refuse unreasonably
• The right would be implied into existing leases automatically — no contract renegotiation needed — but broadband operators would still require separate access agreements with building owners
• Wider reforms include a ground rent cap of £250 per year expected from 2028 and a commonhold ownership model targeted from 2029

What This Means for Kent Residents

If you own or rent a leasehold flat in any of Kent’s larger towns or coastal areas, these proposals could give you a clearer route to faster broadband without being blocked by your freeholder. The reforms are still progressing through Parliament, so nothing’s in force yet — but it’s worth checking your current lease terms and whether your building would qualify under the two-or-more-leases rule. You can follow the Bill’s progress on the UK Parliament website, and the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) offers free guidance to leaseholders on their rights.