Over 4.98 million leasehold dwellings exist in England alone — yet in 2026, the legal framework governing how they are valued, extended, and ultimately owned remains genuinely unsettled. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 legal challenge surveyor implications are now a daily reality for RICS-regulated professionals advising clients on lease extensions, collective enfranchisement, and building purchases across London and the South East.
The October 2025 High Court ruling that dismissed the Duke of Westminster and Earl of Cadogan's judicial review was a landmark moment — but it was not the end of the story. With freeholders signalling an appeal and critical secondary legislation still pending, surveyors face a professional environment where valuation methodology, client advice, and survey reports must all account for live legal uncertainty.
This article sets out exactly what has happened, what remains unresolved, and — most importantly — what RICS-regulated surveyors and informed homeowners should be doing right now.
Key Takeaways 📋
- The High Court dismissed the freeholder judicial review in October 2025, ruling the Act's reforms "fair and proportionate" — but an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights remains possible.
- Marriage value elimination for leases under 80 years is now law, but ongoing challenges mean valuers must document their methodology with exceptional care.
- The two-year ownership rule was abolished on 31 January 2025, giving new buyers immediate rights to extend or enfranchise.
- Building survey reports for leasehold properties in 2026 must flag the current legal landscape as a material consideration.
- The Government's commonhold roadmap is progressing, but full transition is unlikely before 2027 at the earliest.
The Judicial Review: What Happened and Where We Stand
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received Royal Assent in May 2024, representing the most sweeping overhaul of residential leasehold law in a generation. Almost immediately, a coalition of prominent freeholders — led by the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Estate and the Earl of Cadogan's Cadogan Estates — mounted a legal challenge, arguing the Act's provisions violated human rights protections under the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically Article 1 of Protocol 1 (the right to peaceful enjoyment of property).
On 30 January 2025, the High Court granted permission for a comprehensive judicial review, with six substantive claims proceeding to full hearing. The claims challenged the elimination of marriage value, the revised valuation methodologies, and the proportionality of the interference with freeholder property rights.
The full hearing concluded with the High Court dismissing the challenge in October 2025, ruling that the reforms were fair and proportionate responses to well-documented unfairness in the leasehold model. The judgment was widely welcomed by leaseholder groups and the Government alike.
"The court's October 2025 ruling confirmed that Parliament was entitled to rebalance property rights in favour of leaseholders — but the freeholders' stated intention to appeal means surveyors cannot yet treat the legal landscape as fully settled."
However, the freeholder coalition has signalled it may seek leave to appeal and could escalate the dispute to the European Court of Human Rights. This keeps a degree of uncertainty alive, particularly around the valuation provisions that were most hotly contested.
What This Means for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 Legal Challenge Surveyor Implications
For practising surveyors, the practical consequence is this: the Act's core provisions are now in force and must be applied, but the possibility of further legal challenge means that any valuation relying heavily on the new methodology — particularly marriage value elimination — should be thoroughly documented and caveated where appropriate.
Five Key Areas Where Surveyors Must Adapt
1. Statutory Lease Extension Valuations
The Act fundamentally changes how lease extension premiums are calculated. The most significant change is the abolition of marriage value — the uplift previously payable when a lease had fewer than 80 years remaining. Under the old regime, this could add tens of thousands of pounds to a premium, creating a sharp financial cliff-edge at the 80-year mark.
With marriage value eliminated, premiums for short leases are expected to fall substantially. However, the deferment rate — used to calculate the present value of the freeholder's future interest — remains a live battleground. The Act introduces a prescribed deferment rate, but secondary legislation confirming the precise figure has been subject to delay pending the outcome of the judicial proceedings.
For surveyors undertaking leasehold extension and enfranchisement valuations, the recommended protocol in 2026 is:
| Situation | Recommended Approach |
|---|---|
| Lease >80 years | Apply new Act methodology; document basis clearly |
| Lease 60–80 years | Apply new Act (no marriage value); note deferment rate uncertainty |
| Lease <60 years | Apply new Act; provide sensitivity analysis on deferment rate |
| Disputed premium | Advise client to seek specialist legal and valuation advice |
2. Marriage Value and Deferment Rate Calculations
The elimination of marriage value is arguably the most commercially significant change in the Act. Prior to the Act, a leaseholder with 75 years remaining on a central London flat might have faced a premium of £40,000–£80,000 or more, with marriage value constituting a substantial portion of that figure.
Under the new regime, that same premium could be reduced by 30–50%, depending on the property and the deferment rate applied. This is transformative for leaseholders — but it is precisely why the freeholder coalition challenged the Act so aggressively.
The deferment rate prescribed under the Act is intended to replace the variable rates previously argued before the First-tier Tribunal. Until secondary legislation is fully confirmed and any appeal resolved, surveyors should:
- Apply the statutory deferment rate as the primary basis
- Document the legal context in their report, noting that further appeals are possible
- Avoid completing valuations that rely on pre-Act methodology without explicit client instruction and legal advice
3. Right-to-Manage and Collective Enfranchisement Claims
The Act significantly lowers the barriers to collective enfranchisement (where leaseholders collectively purchase the freehold of their building) and right-to-manage (RTM) claims. Key changes include:
- The two-year ownership requirement was abolished on 31 January 2025 — new buyers can now exercise rights immediately upon registration at the Land Registry 🏠
- The non-residential limit for collective enfranchisement has been increased, allowing more mixed-use buildings to qualify
- RTM rights have been extended to cover a wider range of building types
For surveyors advising clients on collective enfranchisement in areas such as central London or Chelsea, the immediate practical implication is that more buildings now qualify and more leaseholders are eligible to participate. This is positive news — but the valuation uncertainty described above applies equally to collective enfranchisement premiums.
Practical tip: Surveyors should verify Land Registry registration dates carefully when advising new buyers on eligibility, as the abolition of the two-year rule applies from 31 January 2025 onwards.
4. Building Survey Reports for Prospective Leasehold Buyers
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 legal challenge surveyor implications extend beyond pure valuation work into the realm of building surveys. When a RICS-regulated surveyor prepares a Level 2 or Level 3 building survey for a client purchasing a leasehold flat, the current legal landscape is a material consideration that should be addressed in the report.
Specifically, surveyors should consider flagging:
- Lease length — any lease under 80 years warrants specific commentary on the cost and process of extension under the new Act
- Marriage value — explain that this has been abolished but note the ongoing legal context
- Ground rent provisions — the Act restricts ground rents; surveyors should confirm the lease terms align with current law
- Annual reporting obligations — freeholders are now required to provide annual condition reports; surveyors should advise clients to request these
For clients purchasing leasehold properties in areas such as Hampstead, Fulham, or South West London, where mansion blocks and period conversions with shorter leases are common, a Level 3 full building survey should be strongly recommended. This level of inspection provides the most comprehensive assessment of building condition and is essential when the legal and financial complexity of leasehold ownership is already elevated.
Key items a surveyor should address in a leasehold building survey report (2026):
- ✅ Confirm lease length and flag if under 80 years
- ✅ Note the Act's marriage value abolition and its implications for extension cost
- ✅ Comment on the building's physical condition in the context of service charge obligations
- ✅ Advise on the availability of annual freeholder reports under the new Act
- ✅ Flag any known disputes, RTM applications, or enfranchisement proceedings
- ✅ Recommend specialist leasehold legal advice before exchange
5. Conveyancing Timelines and Information Obligations
The Act introduces statutory time limits on landlords for responding to information requests during property sales. Previously, there were no legal deadlines, and freeholder non-responsiveness was a common cause of conveyancing delays.
This change is significant for surveyors working within conveyancing transactions. It should, in theory, reduce the delays that have historically frustrated leasehold purchases. However, in 2026, compliance with these new obligations is still bedding in, and surveyors should advise clients to build in reasonable timescales while the market adjusts.
The mandatory annual reporting requirements are also new. Freeholders must now provide leaseholders with comprehensive annual reports covering the building's physical condition, planned major works within two years, and dispute resolution processes. For surveyors, this creates a new source of building condition information that should be requested and reviewed as part of any pre-purchase due diligence.
The Commonhold Transition: What Surveyors Need to Know
The Government's commonhold roadmap — published as part of its broader leasehold reform programme — sets out a pathway towards making commonhold the default form of ownership for new flats in England and Wales. Under commonhold, flat owners hold their individual unit on a freehold basis and collectively own the common parts through a commonhold association, eliminating the landlord-tenant relationship entirely.
In 2026, the commonhold transition remains in its early stages. The Law Commission's recommendations have been largely accepted, and the Government has committed to introducing primary legislation to facilitate the conversion of existing leasehold buildings to commonhold. However, the timeline for full implementation is unlikely to be before 2027 at the earliest, and the complexity of converting existing leasehold titles — particularly in large, mixed-tenure buildings — means the process will be gradual.
For surveyors, the commonhold transition raises several practical questions:
- Valuation methodology — how will commonhold units be valued relative to equivalent leasehold flats? Early evidence from comparable jurisdictions suggests commonhold units may command a modest premium.
- Building survey reports — surveyors advising clients on commonhold conversions will need to understand the governance structure of the commonhold association and its financial reserves.
- Insurance and reinstatement — commonhold associations will hold collective insurance obligations; surveyors should be familiar with insurance reinstatement cost valuations in this context.
- Existing leasehold stock — the vast majority of leasehold flats will remain leasehold for many years; the skills and knowledge required for leasehold valuation and survey work are not going away.
"Commonhold is the long-term destination, but leasehold remains the present reality for millions of homeowners. Surveyors who master the transitional period will be best placed to serve their clients."
Practical Surveyor Protocols: Valuing Leases Under 80 Years in 2026
Given the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 legal challenge surveyor implications outlined above, we recommend the following practical protocols for RICS-regulated surveyors handling short-lease valuations in 2026:
Before commencing the valuation:
- Confirm the current lease length precisely from the title register
- Check whether any lease extension notice has already been served
- Identify the freeholder and confirm whether they are party to any ongoing legal proceedings
During the valuation:
- Apply the Act's prescribed methodology as the primary basis
- Calculate sensitivity ranges based on deferment rate scenarios
- Document your methodology in full, referencing the Act and noting the ongoing appeal context
In the valuation report:
- State clearly that the valuation is based on the Act as currently in force
- Include a caveat noting that further legal proceedings may affect the methodology
- Recommend the client obtains specialist leasehold legal advice before proceeding
- If the lease is under 60 years, strongly recommend immediate action to extend
Post-valuation:
- Monitor the progress of any freeholder appeal and update advice if material changes occur
- Keep clients informed of secondary legislation developments, particularly regarding the deferment rate
For clients across North West London, Surrey, and West London, where leasehold properties with shorter leases are particularly prevalent, these protocols are not optional — they are essential professional practice.
How Prince Surveyors Can Help
Prince Surveyors is a RICS-regulated chartered surveying practice with deep expertise in complex leasehold valuations across London and the South East. Our team has been closely monitoring the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 legal challenge surveyor implications since the Act received Royal Assent, and we are fully up to date with the October 2025 High Court ruling, the ongoing appeal context, and the phased implementation of the Act's provisions.
We offer:
- Statutory lease extension valuations under the new Act, with full methodology documentation
- Collective enfranchisement valuations for leaseholder groups seeking to purchase their freehold
- Level 2 and Level 3 building surveys for prospective leasehold buyers, with specific commentary on lease terms and reform implications
- Expert witness and tribunal support for disputed lease extension premiums
- Specialist advice across Chelsea, Hampstead, Fulham, and throughout central London
Conclusion: Act Now, Not Later
The October 2025 High Court ruling gave leaseholders and their advisers a degree of certainty — but the possibility of a further appeal means the legal landscape is not yet fully settled. For homeowners with leases approaching or below 80 years, the single most important piece of advice in 2026 is to act promptly. The longer a short lease is left unextended, the greater the financial cost and the more complex the process becomes.
For RICS-regulated surveyors, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 legal challenge surveyor implications demand a higher standard of documentation, a more nuanced approach to methodology, and a commitment to keeping clients fully informed as the law continues to evolve.
Your next steps:
- 📞 Contact Prince Surveyors for a specialist leasehold valuation or building survey — our team is ready to advise you in plain English
- 📋 Check your lease length — if it is under 80 years, seek advice immediately
- 🏠 Commission a Level 3 building survey before purchasing any leasehold property in 2026
- ⚖️ Monitor the appeal — subscribe to RICS guidance updates and follow developments in the freeholder challenge
Ready to get expert leasehold advice? Contact Prince Surveyors today — RICS-regulated, London-based, and fully up to date with the latest leasehold reform developments.