Reducing the prevalence of private estate management arrangements

From:: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Published: 18 December 2025

Applies to England

Summary

This consultation seeks view on proposals to tackle unadopted amenities on privately managed housing estates in England.

This consultation closes at
11:59pm on 12 March 2026

Consultation description

There is a growing issue of unadopted amenities on privately managed housing estates in England, where communal infrastructure such as roads, green spaces and drainage systems are maintained by private management companies rather than public authorities.

This consultation seeks views on proposals to:

increase the adoption of estate amenities on new development, such as roads, drainage systems, and green spaces by public authorities
introduce common standards for adoptable amenities
consider mandatory adoption for certain public infrastructure
remove financial incentives that make non-adoption attractive to developers
improve transparency and data on estate management arrangements

The consultation also seeks evidence on the impacts for homeowners, housing developers, local authorities and management companies.

Alongside this consultation, we are also publishing a consultation on enhanced protections for homeowners on freehold estates.

Documents