What actually changes when the new law does start?

what changesENG

What the rules say

the owner must not enter into a relevant disposal of the land unless the disposal— (a) is of the relevant estate in land, and (b) is to the preferred community buyer.

legislation.gov.uk — Schedule 31, English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, last updated 13 May 2026

The page quoted here is not watched yet, so this page cannot say whether it has changed.

The change is bigger than the name suggests, and it is in that sentence. Today a listed building gets a MORATORIUM: a pause, and then the owner sells to whoever they like. Under the new Chapter the owner must not sell to anyone except the preferred community buyer. That is the difference between a right to bid and a right to buy. Two other changes sit alongside it. A listing currently expires after five years; under the new Chapter it lasts ten. And a new category of 'sporting asset of community value' - playing fields, clubhouses - stays on the list indefinitely rather than expiring at all. None of this is in force.

ENGLAND. Schedule 31 Part 1 is headed 'Community right to buy and sporting assets of community value (England)'.

What to do

1. Read Schedule 31 itself if this matters to you. It is long, it is on legislation.gov.uk, and it is the only complete statement of what is coming.
2. If what you care about is a playing field or a clubhouse, look specifically at the sporting asset provisions - they are treated differently and more strongly.
3. Do not re-plan around it yet. Regulations still have to set out how the list is kept and how a preferred community buyer is chosen, and none of them exist.
4. Get listed under the current rules anyway. A building already on the list when the new Chapter starts is in a better position than one that is not.