Valuing Properties with Short Leases and Informal Extensions: How Surveyors Navigate Risk Without Clear Precedent
A leasehold flat with 74 years remaining on its lease can be worth up to 12% less than an identical flat next door with a 99-year term — and once that term dips below 80 years, the financial stakes climb sharply higher. For surveyors, valuing properties with short leases and informal extensions: how surveyors navigate […]
Expert Witness Roles in Service Charge Disputes: RICS Standards for 2026 Leasehold Block Valuations
Service charge disputes now account for a significant proportion of all residential leasehold cases reaching the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England — and the stakes have never been higher. With the Service Charge Residential Management Code (4th Edition) taking effect on 7 April 2026 [2], and RICS actively revising its expert witness professional statement […]
Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill 2026: Implications for Flat Owners and Surveyors
Roughly 4.98 million leasehold dwellings exist in England alone — the vast majority of them flats — and for decades their owners have faced escalating ground rents, costly lease extensions, and a fundamental lack of control over the buildings they call home. That is now set to change. The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, […]
