The UK Government's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has recently consulted on new proposals to give the leasehold owners of as many as 1.2 million flats in England and Wales a statutory right to request gigabit-capable broadband.
These proposals are part of the Government's 'Project Gigabit', which aims to achieve nationwide Gigabit coverage with 99% of premises having access to a gigabit-capable connection by 2032. A gigabit-capable connection is one capable of delivering download speeds of at least 1 gigabit per second. As it stands, 89% of premises in the UK can already access this level of connection. However, there are disparities in broadband coverage across different types of property. In particular, access constraints have made it harder for network operators to install broadband infrastructure to provide connection to flats in multi-dwelling buildings. Consequently, it is estimated that only 78.1% of leasehold flats currently enjoy gigabit-capable broadband.
The Electronic Communications Code (the Code) provides the current legislative framework for network operators and landowners to enter into consensual agreements to install and maintain telecommunications infrastructure. Under the Code, network operators can obtain an order from the courts to access the land if the landlord refuses to enter into an agreement unreasonably. Furthermore, the Government has already introduced a new process through the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act 2021, which allows network operators to gain faster access to residential multi-dwelling units through the courts where a landlord does not respond to repeated requests for access. Nonetheless, network operators have long argued that unclear ownership structures, unresponsive freeholders, and the absence of clear access rights significantly delay their deployment efforts to the shared parts of multi-dwelling buildings.
The proposed reforms would build upon the existing framework to resolve issues where a landlord is unknown or unresponsive to connectivity issues affecting leasehold flats. Leaseholders would have a clear mechanism under which they would be entitled to request gigabit broadband from the freehold landlord. The freeholder would in turn be required not to unreasonably refuse such a request and could be expected to reply to the request within 28 days. If a freeholder has not acted reasonably in their refusal or has failed to respond, a leaseholder would then be able to apply to court to compel the landlord to provide access. The changes are ultimately intended to empower leaseholders and ensure connectivity issues will be addressed more promptly.
It is worth noting that these proposals would not extend the same right to renters, who would still have to rely on their leaseholder landlord to initiate a request for installation. Moreover, the proposals do not go as far as to create an automatic right to install or upgrade telecommunications infrastructure.
The consultation document provided examples of where access to install broadband could be reasonably denied. Examples of reasonable refusal that have been given include where two or more appropriate network operators have been contacted by the freeholder and are unable to provide gigabit-capable connection or are seeking to charge excessive amounts, or where complying with the request would force the landlord to violate the existing terms of a lease.
The consultation, seeking views on the current barriers to deployment of gigabit-capable broadband as well as the current proposals, ended on 16 February 2026, and we expect the Government to issue its response to the consultation later this year. It may be that there will be a surge in requests for gigabit-capable services once these proposals become law and landlords will need to be ready for this. Ultimately, much will depend on how any legislation defines 'unreasonable refusal' and it will be important for freeholders, landlords and managing agents to review their existing policies on broadband installation, as the Government continues to find ways to tackle barriers to broadband access.
