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10 October 2025
Issue: 8134 / Categories: Legal News , Leasehold , Property
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NLJ this week: Leasehold reform in limbo

231939
Louise Uphill, senior associate at Moore Barlow LLP, dissects the faltering rollout of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 in this week's NLJ

Passed hastily in the ‘wash-up’ before the general election, LAFRA 2024 promised fairness, lower costs and 990-year leases — but one year later, confusion reigns. Survey data by the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners, of which Uphill is a member, reveals stalled transactions, uncertain valuations, and ‘guesswork’ advice as practitioners await secondary legislation.

Central to the chaos is the unresolved abolition of marriage value, now mired in human rights challenges. Leaseholders face paralysis, unsure whether to act or wait.

Uphill urges government clarity on implementation and consultation with professionals to avoid reform fatigue. Without a clear timetable, she warns, well-meant legislation risks collapsing into contradiction—leaving leaseholders trapped between political promises and practical inaction.

Issue: 8134 / Categories: Legal News , Leasehold , Property
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

NEWS

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
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