Three women who fought against unfair leasehold rules have helped bring the biggest changes to the property system in England and Wales. Their campaign has led to new laws that aim to give homeowners more rights and stop many of the problems linked to leasehold homes. Cath Williams, Katie Kendrick, and Jo Darbyshire started their campaign after facing unexpected costs and restrictions on their own homes. What began as a local effort soon became a national movement. Today, thousands of homeowners have joined their campaign for change. Williams bought a new-build home in Cheshire almost ten years ago. She said she did not know the property was leasehold when she agreed to buy it. According to her, the details were not clearly explained during the purchase process. She only noticed the word "leasehold" added to her paperwork shortly before moving into the home. After moving in, Williams learned that making changes to her home would require permission from the freeholder. She also discovered that the value of the property could fall as the lease became shorter. At the same time, ground rent and other costs could rise over the years. Williams said she was first told she could buy the freehold for about £2,000 after living in the home for two years. When she later tried to do so, the price had increased to £11,500. She said she felt the process had not been explained properly and decided to speak out. Around the same time, Katie Kendrick faced a similar problem. She wanted to build a kitchen extension but learned she had to pay permission fees because her home was leasehold. Before she could buy the freehold, the developer sold it to another company. The cost of buying it then rose from £2,000 to £14,000. Kendrick created a Facebook group to connect local homeowners who were facing the same issues. The campaign quickly spread across England and Wales as more people shared similar experiences. Many homeowners said they faced rising ground rents, expensive permission fees, and growing difficulty selling their homes. Jo Darbyshire later joined the campaign after seeing the cost of buying her own freehold rise sharply. She also faced lease terms that would have caused her ground rent to double over time. The three women later formed the National Leasehold Campaign. The group has now grown to more than 34,000 members. Campaigners worked with lawmakers, organized public events, and contacted Members of Parliament to push for reform. Their work helped lead to major legal changes. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act ended ground rents for most new residential leasehold properties. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act of 2024 introduced longer lease extensions, removed several costly rules, and improved transparency for service charges. In January 2026, the government published a draft bill that would ban the sale of new leasehold flats and place limits on ground rents for many existing leases. The proposal also supports expanding commonhold ownership, where homeowners own their property while sharing responsibility for the building with other residents. Campaigners welcomed the reforms but said many current leaseholders are still waiting for real change. Some parts of the 2024 law have not yet taken effect, leaving many homeowners facing the same financial pressures. Property owners also continue to report rising service charges. Some residents say they are paying much more each year while waiting for repairs or maintenance work. Others say high costs have made it difficult to sell their homes or move to another property. Freeholders have challenged some of the reforms in court, arguing that the changes reduce the value of their investments. However, campaigners believe stronger protections are still needed for existing leaseholders. The three women have now bought the freeholds for their own homes, but they continue their work. They say many families still need help and that reforms must be fully introduced before more homeowners face similar problems. The campaign has already changed the housing market. The share of new-build houses sold as leasehold has fallen sharply in recent years. Campaigners now hope the remaining reforms will give future homeowners greater protection and bring a fairer system for everyone buying a home.