I was delighted to chair the ALEP Conference which took place at One Great George Street in Westminster on Wednesday 15 October.
Perhaps an appropriate location given the up and coming Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill and the ongoing debate around the Human Rights Act challenges to the current legislation.
Around 240 delegates being experts in the field of leasehold reform (solicitors, surveyors and other professionals) gathered to hear discussion and debate around these topical issues. Speakers included Simon Allison KC of Landmark Chambers who gave us an update on the BSA and several recent cases including Hippersley Point and Triathlon Homes (EWCA Civ 856), (now on appeal to the Supreme Court), and the recent Centre Point decision – Almacantar Centre Point Nominee No.1 Ltd & Ors v Penelope de Valk & Ors [2025] UKUT 298 (LC).
Mark Loveday and Robyn Cunningham of Tanfield Chambers gave us an update on the A1P1 discussions in the case that is being known as ARC Time Freehold and others v Secretary of State (AC-2024-LON-002865) – the human rights act challenges. As both act for the Secretary of State in this case they could not discuss the merits or detail but were able to lay out the legal arguments so that delegates could be aware of these. NOTE: The judgment of the review is now in – and my note on this can be read here.
In the morning delegates discussed company law and its relevance to RTM and enfranchisement and thank you to Louise Parks of Virtual Company Secretary for her discussion on this topic. Henrietta Hammonds presented an informative and insightful talk on preparing for tribunal and the role of the expert witness.
Mike Somekh of the Freehold Collective looked at AI and its increasing role in all areas of our lives including professional services, very much ‘food for thought’ and there was much discussion around this during the breaks.
Piers Harrison of Tanfield Chambers provided us with the case update touching on many of the recent and relevant developments including Courtyard Court RTM v Rockwell Limited [2025] UKUT 39 (LC) and 14 Park Crescent Limited v 14 Park Crescent RTM Co Limited. The Park Crescent case brought back fond memories for those of us who remember when this building (now the subject of an RTM case) used to house the Central London County Court. These cases expand the test for what is a self-contained building or part of a building and although RTM cases will have important read-across to collective enfranchisement.
At the end of the day we drew all of these themes together with a panel session and there were many questions and comments from the room much of this centered around the forthcoming draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill, with the anticipation that the Bill will usher in the replacement of leasehold with commonhold.
There are clear opportunities within this for ALEP and its expert members who will be ideally placed to deal with the conversion to commonhold and the legacy interaction between leasehold and commonhold as and when commonhold becomes the default tenure for flats.
Conference was keen to emphasise to government that ALEP is at the forefront of commonhold and leasehold reform – many of its members having contributed in depth to the Law Commission’s work on this in 2018/209, which has informed the current legislation and no doubt the promised Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
To quote briefly from some remarks that I made in the afternoon address, ALEP remains very much committed to the future of leasehold and commonhold reform. On that very point I reflected on our recent response to MHCLG submitted by the Association:
Whilst our association is called the ‘Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners’ our practitioners are by no means wedded to leasehold as a form of land tenure; if the reforms set out in the White Paper are enacted, we anticipate significant work for our members in relation to conversion to commonhold, and in due course, (subject to further reforms) if the output from collective enfranchisement is either mandated to be, or may become a commonhold structure.
How commonhold is implemented will be key to how successful the reforms will be, and attendees urged caution on the speed of implementation, especially in existing structures. There was a consensus that introducing commonhold on new developments should be a much easier and less controversial process and that any changes in the Bill will require widespread communication and education for both the general public and leasehold practitioners.
It is clear that everyone in the leasehold sector is awaiting the draft Bill with anticipation. While we do not know the details, there is no doubt that the pace of political reform is increasing and that the coming weeks and months will have a profound impact on the future of leasehold tenure.
Mark Chick
22 October 2025
ALEP is the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners, a not for profit body that represents solicitors, surveyors and other professionals working in leasehold enfranchisement. Mark Chick is its Executive Director and Chair.
