Is it worth waiting for the new law, or should we get on with it now?

what is dueENG

What the rules say

Where land is included in a local authority’s list of assets of community value and it is a sporting asset of community value or land falling within section 86B (3) , the entry for that land is to remain on the list indefinitely.

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.

Get on with it now. Three things are due to change and none of them rewards waiting. A listing will last ten years instead of five. A new category of sporting asset - playing fields, clubhouses - will stay on the list indefinitely, which is the sentence quoted here. And the moratorium becomes a right to buy: the owner will not be able to sell to anybody except the preferred community buyer. All three make a listing worth more than it is worth today, and a building already on the list when that happens is in a better position than one that is not. There is no date. Regulations still have to set out how the list is kept and how a preferred community buyer is chosen, and none of them have been made. Waiting costs you the building; acting costs you a form.

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

What to do

1. Nominate now, under the rules that exist. A live listing is the thing that carries forward.
2. If it is a playing field or a clubhouse, say so in the nomination - that category is the one treated most strongly in the new law.
3. If a listing of yours has expired, re-nominate rather than waiting for the ten-year rule.
4. Keep the money work running alongside. None of the legal changes raise a penny.
5. Ask your council whether they have had guidance on commencement.