RICS service charge code approved for England, 7 April

From 7 April 2026, if you pay or collect service charges in a block of flats in England, the rulebook you reach for is getting a refresh. Ministers have approved a new code of practice, to be published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), setting clearer expectations for fair, transparent management.

Quick explainer: a code of practice isn’t a new law. It’s guidance approved by government under section 87 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. Tribunals and courts can consider it when deciding whether behaviour was reasonable. What it means in one line: persuasive, not binding-but powerful in a dispute.

The formal instrument is The Approval of Code of Management Practice (Residential Management) (Service Charges) (England) Order 2026 (SI 2026/298). It was made on 16 March 2026, laid before Parliament on 17 March, and comes into force on 7 April 2026. It approves the Service charge residential management code and additional advice for landlords, leaseholders and agents (ISBN 978‑1‑78321‑552‑2), except for two sections: RICS standards framework and Freehold houses and variable estate rent charges.

Scope matters. Although the instrument extends to England and Wales, it applies only to the management of residential properties in England. If you live in Wales, this approval does not apply to you, though the RICS guidance may still be useful as best practice reading.

What’s being replaced is just as important. Approval of the previous Service Charge Residential Management Code (ISBN 978‑1‑78321‑141‑8) is withdrawn. Earlier approval orders from 1996 (England element), 2009 and 2016 are revoked so that everyone works to one up‑to‑date reference point rather than a patchwork of versions.

Why do service charges cause friction? They fund shared costs-cleaning, insurance, lighting, lift and fire equipment maintenance, gardening, managing the building and more. Most leases use a variable service charge, and the law asks whether the spending is reasonably incurred and represents reasonable value. That’s where an approved code gives shape to what “good” looks like.

Day‑one effect is straightforward. For acts or omissions on and after 7 April 2026, courts and the First‑tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) can take the new code into account. For anything that happened before that date, the transitional rule keeps earlier approved codes relevant for those historic events. No one is judged by a standard that didn’t yet apply.

If you’re a leaseholder, start by asking your managing agent when and how they will align their processes to the new RICS code. Keep your most recent budget, year‑end statements and supporting invoices together, and request written explanations for any line you don’t understand. Clear records make it easier to resolve questions early-or, if needed, to make a focused application to the Tribunal.

If you’re a landlord or managing agent, treat the next few weeks as a housekeeping window. Refresh welcome packs and service charge summaries so they plainly explain how costs are calculated and apportioned, who signs off spending and how residents can query bills. Check your client money handling, tendering, reserve fund planning and insurance disclosures meet the expectations you intend to follow under the RICS text.

Two carve‑outs matter. Government approval does not extend to the RICS standards framework section or the section on freehold houses and variable estate rent charges. If you manage mixed estates, you’ll still rely on separate guidance and the deeds that govern estate charges for freehold homes.

Finding the documents is simple. Legislation.gov.uk carries the statutory instrument with the exact dates and wording, while RICS will publish the approved code with a free electronic version. Keeping a copy to hand-digital or printed-will make conversations with residents, freeholders and agents quicker and calmer.

Accountability is the point. Approval by the Secretary of State doesn’t convert guidance into statute, but it does raise the evidential bar. If a manager strays from the code without a good reason, that can count against them. If they follow the code and the lease, they’re on firmer ground when decisions are tested.

Timing helps everyone plan. The order is signed by Minister of State Matthew Pennycook on 16 March 2026, laid on 17 March, and active from 7 April. Those dates explain why managers should act now rather than wait for year‑end reconciliations later in 2026.

Finally, officials have not produced a formal impact assessment, signalling they expect little or no significant extra cost for the sector. For teachers, students and early‑career renters learning how housing works, this is a useful moment to understand the vocabulary of service charges-and to ask confident, constructive questions about value, evidence and fairness.