- within Government and Public Sector topic(s)
1. Transparency in the real estate sector – the next step?
The current and previous governments have been increasing the transparency of property ownership during recent years, including the establishment of the Register of Overseas Entities and the extension of the Trusts Registration Service. Part 9 of the Levelling up and Regeneration Act 2023 contains provisions for the introduction of a system to increase transparency of contractual arrangements used to exercise control over the buying or selling of land, as explored in a previous briefing. The current Government appears to be pushing ahead with this idea, which would put data about option agreement and pre-emption agreements into the public domain. There is some doubt as to whether the public interest in knowing which developers might decide to develop properties in their area does in fact outweigh those companies' commercial imperative to keep that information private from competitors.
2. Increasing the consumer rights of tenants and buyers
The implementation of the Renters' Rights Bill was a Labour manifesto pledge and, as discussed in our Autumn Briefing 2024, represents a seismic shift in the residential lettings sector. There are concerns in the investor community that the courts do not have capacity to cope with the anticipated influx of cases that will result from landlords losing the ability to serve so-called 'no fault' eviction notices, but the sector will welcome the certainty of knowing what the new regime will look like once the Bill passes into law. The final stage of the Bill's passage through parliament is set to take place on 14 October 2025.
Meanwhile, the CMA is consulting on draft guidance setting out how prices should be presented to consumers – including delivery charges, booking or admin fees, local taxes, joining fees and other sums that may make up the total price for a product or service. It is particularly concerned about misleading "headline" prices, which don't include additional charges that most consumers will end up having to pay. This is relevant for consumer-facing parts of the real estate industry such as build-to-rent, retirement living and student accommodation, and for property agents which advertise properties for sale or let. Our briefing on this topic is here.
3. Energy efficiency in buildings
One of the provisions of the Renters' Rights Bill, referred to above, is that residential properties that are let out in the private rental sector will (like social housing) become subject to Awaab's Law and the Decent Homes Standard. These standards tackle the issues of damp/mould and thermal comfort respectively, which are both related to insulation. The elephant in the room, discussed here, is that the sector is still holding its breath to find out whether the Government plans to increase the minimum energy efficiency levels required in the MEES Regulations from E to C and, if so, when.
4. Banning upwards-only rent reviews
In July 2025, the real estate sector was startled to discover, buried at the back of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, provisions that would replace contractually-agreed upwards-only rent review provisions in commercial leases with upwards-and-downwards provisions. The Government's explanatory notes state that these changes will "end upwards only rent review clauses in commercial leases to prevent vacant shops and regenerate high streets in communities across the country". However, there is concern across the industry that this ban could have the opposite effect. Our earlier briefing explores the experiences of similar provisions in the US, Australia and Ireland. Meanwhile, the Bill reached the committee stage in Parliament on 16 September 2025, and the property sector has taken every opportunity to share their thoughts with the Government.
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