On 24 October 2025, a Divisional Court (consisting of Lord Justice Holgate and Mr Justice Foxton) handed down judgment in R (ARC Time Freehold Income Authorised Fund & Ors) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2025] EWHC 2751 (Admin).
The judicial review proceedings concerned aspects of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 which had the effect of reducing the overall premium payable by leaseholders on enfranchisement. The claimants are owners of freeholds and other revisionary interests in dwellings in England and Wales. They argued that the legislation was incompatible with their rights under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention of Human Rights.
The Divisional Court rejected the claims. It found that the measures under challenge, to the extent that they interfered with the claimants’ rights, were proportionate and within Parliament’s margin of appreciation, and were thus compatible with Article 1 of Protocol No. 1, taken both individually and cumulatively.
Naomi Hart acted for the Secretary of State in a counsel team led by Sir James Eadie KC and instructed by the Government Legal Department.
