King's Speech 2026: Key housing take aways

This morning’s King’s Speech in Westminster marked the 2026 state opening of parliament, setting out the government’s legislative plans for the year ahead. There were 35 bills announced, including several welcome housing announcements.

These included a new Social Housing Renewal Bill including measures to deliver on commitments around Right to Buy reform, stronger tenancy protections for domestic abuse survivors, and steps to safeguard much-needed social homes and security of tenure.

Government stated it’s ambition, through the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, to address long-standing unfairness in the leasehold system and give homeowners greater control, transparency and security. Proposals to cap ground rents, strengthen protections against disproportionate enforcement, and make commonhold a workable alternative provide important steps in improving the experience of home ownership for millions of leaseholders.

There was a further commitment, through the Remediation Bill, to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding and ensure those responsible are held to account. Giving regulators stronger powers, creating clear duties to remediate, and closing gaps that have left residents stuck in unsafe homes are important steps toward restoring confidence and safety.

Gavin Smart, CIH chief executive commented on the speech, saying: “We welcome the government’s ambitious legislative programme set out in today’s King’s Speech, with important measures across social housing, leasehold reform and building safety. Commitments on Right to Buy reform, stronger tenancy protections for domestic abuse survivors, capping ground rents, making commonhold a viable alternative, and speeding up the remediation of unsafe cladding all signal a clear intent to improve residents’ security, safety and control over their homes. We look forward to seeing the detail and working with government and partners to ensure these reforms deliver meaningful, practical and lasting improvements for current and future residents.”

You can read the King’s Speech in full here https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-kings-speech-2026