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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Disputes and remedies Trespass and adverse possession Contractual issues Additional Property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and horizon scanning Key developments and horizon scanning MHCLG announces implementation timeline for Renters' Rights Act 2025 The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) has issued the complete implementation roadmap for the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, confirming the schedule for the most far‑reaching reform of residential tenants’ rights in a generation. The government has outlined a staged approach to roll out the reforms, starting with the repeal of Section 21 ‘no‑fault’ evictions on 1 May 2026. From that day, every new and current tenancy in England’s private rented market will switch to assured periodic tenancies, granting renters indefinite occupation and ending standard use of fixed‑term agreements. Landlords will, however, retain the...
In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Residential tenancies Service charges Disputes and remedies Trespass and adverse possession Additional Property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and horizon scanning Challenge to Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 fails In R ( ARC Time Freehold Income Authorised Fund) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government ( The Speaker of The House of Commons) [2025] EWHC 2751 ( Admin), the High Court confirmed three core leasehold reforms in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 ( LFRA 2024) are consistent with property rights under Article 1 of the First Protocol. The provisions fix ground rent for enfranchisement valuations, remove marriage value from enfranchisement premiums, and prevent landlords recovering non-litigation costs in enfranchisement claims. These measures are designed to correct systemic unfairness in leasehold tenure by cutting the sums...
What was the background? Six prominent landlords — ARC, Cadogan & Grosvenor, Abacus, Wallace, John Lyon’s Charity and Portal Trust — commenced judicial review proceedings, alleging that three elements of the LFRA 2024 infringe A1P1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The dispute focused on leasehold enfranchisement: the statutory mechanism by which long leaseholders may purchase the freehold or extend their lease, devised to remedy the ‘wasting asset problem’, whereby leaseholds lose value as the term shortens despite tenants having paid sizeable premiums and ongoing maintenance charges. The impugned provisions were: a ceiling on ground rent set at 0.1% of the freehold vacant possession value for the purposes of enfranchisement calculations; the elimination of marriage value from enfranchisement premiums by proceeding on the basis that the tenant is not seeking to acquire the freehold; and the removal of tenants’...
Maile and another v Maile and others [2025] EWHC 2494 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Beyond the judge’s observations on assurances, which he said must amount to clear, binding promises proved by cogent evidence rather than statements liable to differing readings or merely reflecting the testator’s then intentions for the estate, he also found the claimants’ alleged period of reliance to be very brief, and their cross-examination did not demonstrate reliance at all. When, in 2016, they learnt the deceased had altered her Will so the Farm would no longer pass to them, their conduct was unchanged. They continued to farm in partnership with the deceased and went on withdrawing substantial cash from the partnership by way of drawings. The decision is a sharp reminder that, when advising on proprietary estoppel, practitioners should ask whether the person would, in truth, have...
In this issue: Residential tenancies Disputes and remedies Contractual issues Service charges Trespass and adverse possession Property Disputes in Scotland Additional Property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Residential tenancies MHCLG publishes guidance on electrical safety standards for rented sectors The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) has issued guidance clarifying how the electrical safety standards regime applies to landlords, tenants and local authorities across England’s private and social rented sectors. It addresses the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector ( England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/312, which were extended in 2025 to cover the social rented sector by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (...
In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Disputes and remedies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Service charges Enforcing security and property insolvency Contractual issues Property disputes in Scotland Additional Property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and horizon scanning Renters' Rights Bill receives Royal Assent On 27 October 2025, the Renters’ Rights Bill gained Royal Assent, becoming the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 ( RRA 2025). Among its reforms, RRA 2025 scraps Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and introduces a streamlined tenancy model, under which all assured tenancies are periodic. Further headline measures include establishing a Private Rented Sector Ombudsman with binding dispute resolution powers and creating a comprehensive Private Rented Sector Database to...
In this issue: Residential tenancies Disputes and remedies Service charges Easements and covenants Trespass and adverse possession Lease covenants and obligations Additional property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Residential tenancies Subsequent compliance with gas safety records overcomes pre-tenancy defect ( Cassell v Sidhu) In Cassell v Sidhu [2025] Lexis Citation 2682, the Reading County Court rejected an appeal against a possession order concerning a property let under an assured shorthold tenancy ( AST). The central question was whether a gas safety record supplied when the AST began, which omitted the landlords’ address as required by the Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998, permanently stopped the landlords relying on the accelerated possession route in section 21 of the...
A copy of the minutes is accessible here: Online Procedure Rule Committee minutes of meeting 14 July 2025, in full. Welcome, apologies and introductory remarks (item 1) The Master of the Rolls ( MR) opened the meeting, thanking Lord Justice Edis for serving as interim Senior President of Tribunals ( SPT). The Committee noted that a new SPT will be in post before the Committee reconvenes again in October. Formal approval was given to the record of the last meeting, which took place on 9 June 2025. SI and forward look (item 2) Members also considered proposals for the forthcoming enabling SI, covering OCMC and the DCP. Cooperation between the OPRC and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee ( CPRC) will be needed, and a joint working group—mirroring the Property and Possession Working Group—should be formed. The Committee also explored how best to frame...
In this issue: Forfeiture Repairing obligations and dilapidations Residential tenancies Disputes and remedies Trespass and adverse possession Neighbour and party wall disputes Key developments and horizon scanning Property disputes in Scotland Additional property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Forfeiture Relief from forfeiture and abuse of process ( Mentmore Golf Investments v Gaymer) In Mentmore Golf Investments v Gaymer [2025] EWHC 2604 ( Ch), the Chancery Division determined an appeal by Mentmore Golf Investments (‘ Investments’) against HHJ Murch’s decision striking out its mortgagee’s claim for relief from forfeiture of the lease of Mentmore Golf Course, where the respondent, Mr Gaymer, was the freeholder and landlord. The forfeited leasehold interest belonged to Mentmore Greenland Ltd (‘...
Wigan Council v Property Alliance Group Ltd; Trafford Council v Property Alliance Group Ltd [2025] EWHC 2336 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment offers an application of Rossendale [2021] UKSC 16, [2022] AC 690 on facts that were not assumed. It examines and applies the Rossendale test of the ‘real or practical ability to exercise a legal right to possession’, and determines that two variants of NDR liability avoidance schemes failed to achieve their stated aim. The consequence was that PAG remained liable to the billing authorities for the non-domestic rates they sought to recover. As such, the decision provides an illustration of the correct method for assessing the validity of schemes of this nature, and practitioners advising property investors or development companies should be alert to the difficulties presented. What was the...
On Tower UK Ltd v British Telecommunications Plc [2025] EWCA Civ 844 What are the practical implications of this case? Landlords and site providers will need to ensure that an agreement’s term has been, or will be, brought to an end in accordance with its contractual terms before serving paragraph 31 notices under the Electronic Communications Code, in Schedule 3A to the Communications Act 2003 ( CA 2003) ( Code), where those notices are intended to take effect after the contractual term has ended. The decision leaves open whether a landlord or site provider must wait for a break notice to expire, and demonstrate satisfaction of any break pre-conditions, before a paragraph 31 notice can then be issued; or whether it is adequate simply to serve the break notice and then—perhaps the following day—a paragraph 31 notice (or even to place both...
Beacon Cymru Group Ltd (formerly Coastal Housing Group Ltd) and another company v Mitchell and another; Bron Afon Community Housing Ltd v Wadley ( The Welsh Ministers, intervening) [2025] EWHC 2477 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling covers both converted and new contracts and applies to every type of landlord in Wales. Advisers must take both decisions into account when representing a client concerned about a failure to provide an electrical condition report ( ECR) to either a new or converted contract-holder. Particular care will be required in rent arrears matters or housing conditions claims. The decision does not lessen the importance of complying with the sometimes complex statutory and regulatory requirements of the Renting Homes ( Wales) Act 2016 ( RH( W) A 2016) and its suite of supporting regulations. Nevertheless, read together the judgments suggest, in very broad...
The CPRC minutes for 4 July 2025—held in hybrid form at The Rolls Building ( Royal Courts of Justice) and by video link—address a range of matters set out below: interim serious crime prevention orders; digital rule-making for OCMC/ DCP and the OPRC’s prospective remit; changes on sealing/service of claim forms; a review of civil restraint orders; and the impending Extended Fixed Recoverable Costs stocktake consultation. Note: the CPRC no longer distributes the supporting papers with its minutes; accordingly, no explanatory documents accompany this News Analysis as such. A copy of the minutes is available here: Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting for reference and ease of access. Welcome, apologies and introductory remarks (item 1) The record of the 6 June 2025 meeting was approved (see News Analysis: Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting—6 June 2025). A clarifying change to public question 13 from the 9 May 2025...
In this issue: Enfranchisement and right to manage Disputes and remedies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Residential tenancies Property Disputes in Scotland Additional Property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Latest Q& As Enfranchisement and right to manage FTT’s approach to property valuation principles in lease extension upheld ( Deritend Investments ( Birkdale) v Fung Tai Engineering Company)) In Deritend Investments ( Birkdale) v Fung Tai Engineering Company) [2025] UKUT 324 ( LC), the Upper Tribunal ( Lands Chamber) ( UT) rejected an appeal from the First-tier Tribunal ( Property Chamber) ( FTT) concerning the premium set for extending a leasehold interest in a Hyde Park flat with 54.71 years remaining. Permission to appeal had been granted because it was...
In this issue: Enforcing security and property insolvency Service charges Disputes and remedies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Residential tenancies Rent and rates Contractual issues Additional Property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Latest Q& As Enforcing security and property insolvency Applications for possession and sale of the family home in bankruptcy ( Armstrong v Temblett) The matter involved an application by Mr Armstrong, acting as trustee in bankruptcy (the trustee), seeking an order for possession and sale of Mrs Vanessa Temblett’s London property, jointly owned with her husband (the London property). The court determined that, under section 335A of the Insolvency Act 1986 ( IA 1986), the trustee was entitled to possession and sale, as no...
In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Disputes and remedies Trespass and adverse possession Electronic communications Disputes and remedies Rent and rates Additional Property Disputes updates Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Key developments and horizon scanning BPF director warns of commercial impact from Devolution Bill's rent review ban Policy lead at the British Property Federation ( BPF), Ion Fletcher, has voiced reservations about the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill’s proposed prohibition on upward-only rent reviews ( UORRs) in commercial leases. Whilst recognising the Bill’s broader aim to devolve powers to regional authorities and enhance local development outcomes, Fletcher cautions that the late addition of the UORR ban—without consultation—could weaken investor confidence. UORRs are widely used in longer commercial leases, providing income certainty that can de-risk...
In this issue: Disputes and remedies Contractual issues Service charges Key developments and horizon scanning Additional Property Disputes updates Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Disputes and remedies 190th Practice Direction update—online civil claims—in force 16 September 2025 The 190th Practice Direction update took effect at 11am on 16 September 2025. It brings revisions to CPR PD 51R (the Online Civil Money Claims Pilot) and CPR PD 51ZB (the Damages Claims Pilot). For CPR PD 51R, the case progression and general applications functionality is now enabled across all County Courts. The update also delivers minor housekeeping changes to CPR PD 51R and CPR PD 51ZB. See: LNB News 15/09/2025 33......
In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Electronic communications Disputes and remedies Repairing obligations and dilapidations Service charges Easements and covenants Residential tenancies Rent and rates Additional Property Disputes updates Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Key developments and horizon scanning RICS publishes first global standard on AI use in surveying The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors ( RICS) has unveiled its inaugural worldwide professional standard for responsible AI in surveying, effective from 9 March 2026. It introduces mandatory obligations and sets out best practice for RICS members and regulated firms globally, covering governance and risk management, professional judgement and oversight, transparency and client communication, and ethical AI development. The standard applies to AI used across valuation, construction, infrastructure and land services. Firms must...
AP Wireless II ( UK) Ltd v On Tower ( UK) Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 971 What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Appeal has provided fresh guidance on managing telecoms arrangements when reviewing agreements already in place. The crucial first step is to establish whether an existing arrangement is a lease or a licence and, accordingly, whether the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ( LTA 1954) or the Electronic Communications Code (the ‘ Code’) applies when considering renewal or termination. For those representing Operators or Site Providers who intend to commence the renewal or bring their current telecommunications arrangements to an end, it is essential to determine at the outset whether the arrangement is a lease or a licence. A licence falls within the Code and requires service of the prescribed notice in accordance with the Code. In light of this...
In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Disputes and remedies Easements and covenants Electronic Communications Additional Property Disputes updates Lex Talk®Property Disputes: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Key developments and horizon scanning Budget Day 2025 The Government has announced that budget day will be 26 November 2025. See LNB News 03/09/2025 5. Disputes and remedies Upper Tribunal confirms two-stage test for unreasonable behaviour ( Coogan v Taheri) The Upper Tribunal ( Lands Chamber) ( UT) in Coogan v Taheri [2025] UKUT 293 ( LC) dismissed an appeal by the tenant appellants against a £70,000 costs order made by the First-tier Tribunal ( Property Chamber) ( Residential Property) ( FTT) under rule 13(1)(b) of the Tribunal Procedure ( First-tier Tribunal) ( Property Chamber) Rules 2013. The...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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