The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026. The legislation removes the remaining connection between hereditary peerage and membership of the House of Lords, makes provision for resignations where a member lacks capacity, abolishes the Lords’ jurisdiction over hereditary peerage claims, and makes consequential amendments across related statutes. ([]())
Section 1 repeals section 2 of the House of Lords Act 1999, thereby ending the ‘excepted’ hereditary membership arrangement. The change is not immediate: the Act provides that the repeal takes effect at the end of the current Session of Parliament. It also confirms that any writ of summons issued for this Parliament in right of a hereditary peerage is of no effect after that Session. ([]())
In practical terms, hereditary peers continue to sit and vote until prorogation brings the Session to a close. The by‑elections used since 1999 to fill hereditary vacancies were paused during the Bill’s passage and, once commencement occurs at Session end, will fall away with the repeal. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk)
Section 2 amends the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 to allow a resignation notice to be given and signed on behalf of a member who lacks capacity, in accordance with House Standing Orders. This provision commenced immediately on Royal Assent, enabling the House to process such retirements without delay. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk)
Section 3 abolishes the jurisdiction of the House of Lords in relation to claims to hereditary peerages, including claims in abeyance. This jurisdictional change commences at the end of the current Session and ends the role historically exercised through the Committee for Privileges and Conduct. (parliament.uk)
Ministers have indicated that future complex or disputed peerage claims that would previously have been referred to the House will instead be referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council under section 4 of the Judicial Committee Act 1833. The Government considered it unnecessary to state this transfer expressly in the Act; a Commons amendment to codify it was not pressed. (lordslibrary.parliament.uk)
Section 4 makes consequential amendments. The Peerage Act 1963 is updated to remove now‑redundant provisions (including those on Scottish peerages and peeresses in their own right), the House of Lords Act 1999 is tidied to delete hereditary‑specific disqualifications, section 42 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 is adjusted to remove references to succession to a peerage in transitional tax‑status rules, and the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 is aligned to a single route for ceasing membership. (bills.parliament.uk)
The Act’s extent is UK‑wide. Section 2 (resignation by attorney), the extent/commencement provisions and the short title took effect on 18 March 2026. The repeal of hereditary membership, the jurisdictional change and the consequential amendments commence at prorogation of the present Session. ([]())
House authorities have prepared the necessary Standing Orders. On 10 March, the Leader of the House told peers that the Procedure and Privileges Committee had agreed draft Standing Orders so they can take effect promptly after Royal Assent. (hansard.parliament.uk)
On composition and capacity, ministers confirmed during the final Lords exchanges that additional life peerages will be offered to the Official Opposition and the Crossbenchers, and that the number of paid ministerial posts in the Lords will be increased to support workload as hereditary seats fall away. (parliament.uk)