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A bill to Make provision about leases for occupancy of premises in integrated retirement communities; to make provision about fees associated with such leases; to make provision about the regulation of operators of integrated retirement communities; and for connected purposes.

Be it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Definitions¶

In this Act—

integrated retirement communities means any development wholly comprised of two or more properties in England, where at least one property is held under a retirement occupancy lease;

operator of an integrated retirement community means any person—

(a) who—

(i) is a freeholder of,

(ii) has a beneficial interest in, or

(iii) is responsible for the management and provision of services in

an integrated retirement community; and

(b) charges a fee for services provided to that community; and

a retirement occupancy lease has the meaning given in section 2.

2 Retirement occupancy leases¶

(1) Within six months beginning on the day on which this Act is commenced, the Secretary of State must by regulations create a scheme of leases for properties that are part of integrated retirement communities (“retirement occupancy leases”) in England.

(2) Regulations under this section must—

(a) provide that all new leasehold properties within integrated retirement communities must be held under retirement occupancy leases;

(b) make provision to enable the transfer of existing leasehold arrangements within integrated retirement communities onto retirement occupancy leases, subject to the consent of the leaseholder where the existing lease requires it;

(c) provide that the holder of a retirement occupancy lease is the owner of the property for which the lease is issued, and the name of that leaseholder is registered with HM Land Registry accordingly;

(d) provide that, upon the sale of a retirement occupancy lease from one leaseholder (“A”) to another leaseholder (“B”), any contract between an operator of an integrated retirement community and B for provision of any services by, or under the supervision of, the operator must be renewed or revised following negotiation with B.

3 Integrated retirement communities: management charges¶

(1) An operator of an integrated retirement community has a duty to disclose any fees to holders of retirement occupancy leases in reasonable time before the required payment of such fees.

(2) An operator of an integrated retirement community may only increase any fee charged for the management of services to holders of retirement occupancy leases in accordance with the conditions under subsection (3).

(3) The conditions are that—

(a) that the increase is calculated —

(i) as a percentage, or

(ii) as equivalent to an inflation index published by the Office for National Statistics;

(b) the basis for the increase is set out in the lease, or in a contract associated with the lease;

(c) the operator provides reasonable and adequate notice of a proposed increase in the fee to persons by whom that fee is payable, and

(d) those persons have had reasonable opportunity to make representations to the operator about the proposed increase.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), an operator of an integrated retirement community must not charge fees to holders of retirement occupancy leases unless those fees are calculated based solely on—

(a) the value of the property for which the lease is held as a proportion of the value of all properties within the integrated retirement community, and

(b) the monthly costs accrued by the operator for the provision of services.

(5) An operator of an integrated retirement community may charge a fee to a leaseholder of a retirement occupancy lease (“A”) upon the sale of the lease to another leaseholder, provided that—

(a) the fee is calculated taking into account—

(i) either—

(A) the sale price agreed on the transfer of the property, or

(B) the purchase price agreed when A purchased the property, and

(ii) the duration for which A has lived in that property, and

(b) the operator of the integrated retirement community notifies A of the manner in which the fee is to be calculated in reasonable time.

4 Consumer protection¶

(1) The Secretary of State must by regulations make provision for a register of all operators of integrated retirement communities.

(2) Regulations under this section must—

(a) specify the manner in which a registration must be made,

(b) provide that a copy of any registration is provided to the Housing Ombudsman,

(3) For the purposes of Part 3 of the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act 2024—

(a) the operator of an integrated retirement community is a trader, and

(b) any activity undertaken by an operator of an integrated retirement community falling within the description of a commercial practice in section 148(2) of that Act is a commercial practice

within the meaning of section 148 of that Act.

5 Power to make consequential provision¶

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision that is consequential on this Act.

(2) Regulations under this section may amend, repeal or revoke provision made by or under an Act passed—

(a) before this Act, or

(b) later in the same session of Parliament as this Act.

6 Regulations¶

(1) Regulations under this Act are to be made by statutory instrument.

(2) A statutory instrument containing regulations under—

(a) section 2 (Retirement occupancy leases)

(b) section 4 (Consumer protection), and

of this Act may not be made unless a draft of the statutory instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(3) A statutory instrument containing regulations under section 7 of this Act is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

7 Extent, commencement and short title¶

(1) This Act extends to England and Wales.

(2) This Act comes into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Leases (Integrated Retirement Communities) Act 2026.