- in United Kingdom
- with readers working within the Property industries
- within Accounting and Audit topic(s)
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the third edition of Real Insight, our UK real estate update.
We look at one of the UK government's flagship pieces of legislation, the recently passed Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. We review our real estate markets event held in November 2025 and provide the lowdown on district heating networks. There's an update on the Renters' Rights Act and an article on how the logistics sector is adapting to sustainability requirements. We also look ahead to the forthcoming MIPIM event and, as usual, there's the latest edition of our energy, infra and real estate markets podcast "Real Assets Roundup".
We hope that you enjoy this edition.
PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE ACT
"Seismic"—The Planning and
Infrastructure Act
On 18 December 2025, the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 was enacted. The UK government describes the Act's reforms as "seismic", so you probably ought to find out about it. There's quite a lot to the Act, so we have split it up into two articles. Richard Adams takes you through the planning aspects in our first Commentary, whilst Richard and Martin Stewart-Smith deal with the infrastructure provisions in our second Commentary.
Read our first related Commentary: UK's Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025: Planning Aspects >>
Read our second related Commentary: UK's Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025: Infrastructure Aspects >>
REAL ESTATE MARKETS
Real Estate Markets Event—November 2025
Sam Harding reports on our recent Real Estate Markets event.
In November we welcomed clients from across the Real Estate sector to Two Temple Place for a panel discussion with senior figures from across the sector to explore the outlook for European Real Estate markets over the next five years. The panellists included Achal Gandhi (CBRE Investment Management), David Gorleku (Blackstone) and Aurélien Collignon (StepStone Group), and the discussion was moderated by Andrew Barker and Anna Cartwright (Jones Day).
The discussion highlighted expectations of a more varied macro-economic landscape as interest rates normalise, alongside continued long-term opportunities in sectors such as logistics, living and hospitality, and selective potential in traditional assets including office and retail. Panellists also noted shifts in capital formation, with institutional investors adopting more creative and flexible capital structures, and the growing role of private credit in enabling sophisticated risk allocation. With cautious optimism, the consensus was that leading investors are already positioning portfolios for the next cycle, balancing conviction with flexibility to build resilience through to 2030.
Thank you to those of you who attended what was an informative and insightful evening. We look forward to seeing you at our next event.
DISTRICT HEAT NETWORKS
A Hot Topic: New Regulations Turn up the Heat on
DHNs
They have played an increasing role in new developments for some
years and are here to stay, but district heat networks have not
been subject to the same regulatory standards as other kinds of
energy systems. However, as John
Crowley and Will
Land explain, that's about to change.
Read our related Commentary >>
RENTERS' RIGHTS ACT 2025—UPDATE
In October, we brought you our Commentary on the Renters' Rights Act 2025. We now know through guidance subsequently published by the government that the first wave of major changes under the Act—including the abolition of assured shorthold tenancies ("ASTs") and the introduction of assured periodic tenancies in their place—will come into force on 1 May 2026. It will no longer be possible to grant fixed-term residential tenancies unless they exceed 21 years. New purpose-built student accommodation tenancies granted on or after 1 May 2026 will be exempt from the new regime provided they are compliant with a government-approved code.
All ASTs granted prior to 1 May 2026 will be converted automatically into assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026 (unless landlords take certain steps, prior to 1 May 2026, to terminate them). Landlords will need to write to their existing tenants explaining the conversion of their tenancies by 31 May 2026.
Landlords need to ensure that they are ready for the new rules. At Jones Day, we have a team of senior lawyers who can advise on the Act. If you would like to discuss the forthcoming changes, please contact Ryan Hill.
LOGISTICS
Shedding Its Image: Logistics Sector Seeks to Deliver
Sustainability
In this Commentary, Jaskie Chana and Will Land review the changing regulatory requirements and investor demand for more sustainable logistics buildings.
Read our related Commentary >>
REAL ASSETS ROUNDUP
Tune in to "Real Assets Roundup"—our regular podcast on trends and opportunities in the real estate, infra and energy markets as part of an extended series of Jones Day Talks®.
In our latest episode, "Real Assets Roundup–Episode 6: Higher Education," the "podfather" Brian Sedlak welcomes Christopher Good, a managing director at RBC Capital Markets, and Mike Mitchell, a research administrator at The Ohio State University. They discuss the evolving higher education landscape, pressures on the traditional revenue streams and public–private partnerships in university settings.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
[View Source]
