Leasehold

If a lease from before June 2022 raises the ground rent on a timetable, does the survey cancel that clause?

No. GOV.UK says the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 stops ground rent above a peppercorn on most new long leases from 30 June 2022, and not before 1 April 2023 for retirement homes. It does not rewrite a lease granted before the Act. If the older lease raises the rent on a timetable, your solicitor reads that clause. The survey of the flat does not delete it.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

A rising rent is a legal term, not a crack. The survey might repeat a ground-rent figure the agent supplied, and that figure can be wrong. The lease is the document. A voluntary extension after the Act started is a different case: the guidance says the extended portion drops to a peppercorn, not the years already granted. A statutory extension is exempt. Ask the solicitor which, if any, applies.

Do not subtract a guessed future rent from the price because the survey gave the roof a rating. Do not assume every lease now says one peppercorn. Ask to see the rent-review wording before you exchange.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Are you making any comment on the ground rent, or only on the building?
If a rent figure appears in the report, where did it come from?
Which building defects would still matter if the rent clause is expensive?

What are the typical next steps?

Have the solicitor read the rent clause and say whether the 2022 Act touches this lease.
Do not rely on an agent’s ‘peppercorn’ claim without the lease.
Keep the survey for condition. Keep the rent for the lease.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Does a retirement flat sold in 2021 get the peppercorn automatically?

No. GOV.UK says retirement properties were not brought into the Act before 1 April 2023. A lease granted before that can still reserve a real rent.

Can the seller vary the rent by email?

Not in a way you should rely on. A variation is a deed your solicitor drafts or checks.