What’s in the real estate mix for 2026?

Next Steps for the Renter’s Rights Act

This time last year, we reported on the Renters Rights’ Bill. That Bill (with amendments) became law on 27 October 2025 and, with much of it coming into force in May 2026, we are now looking ahead to the regulations and guidance cementing the sweeping changes to the private rental system in England and Wales. 

For more details on the implementation roadmap and latest guidance, have a look at the recent commentary in our November 2025 Real Estate Focus. 

Leasehold and commonhold reform

Representing one of the largest shifts in land interests seen in centuries and following the publication of the Government’s white paper in March 2025, we expect the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill to be revealed shortly.

The Government’s intention is for a comprehensive new legal framework to “reinvigorate commonhold”, a form of ownership which has been in existence since 2002 but has not yet succeeded in overtaking the traditional leasehold structure.

The key proposals to the existing commonhold model include:

• new flexibilities to enable commonhold to be a practicable form of ownership for larger developments;
• amendments to the rules governing a commonhold association to promote democratic decision making and safeguard commonhold owners; and
• introducing new measures to assist with funding including allowing for commonhold associations to secure loans against common parts or future commonhold contributions, as well as enhanced powers for commonhold associations to recover debt from unit holders.

For more information on these landmark proposals, see our previous commentary here. 

In the meantime, the Government is simultaneously working to reform the existing leasehold system (more on that below).

Reform of business rates

As trailed in the Government’s 2024 Budget, the recent autumn 2025 Budget revealed the figures to be introduced for the new five-tier system. The new multipliers are split as follows (as pence per pound of Rateable Value (RV)):

• small multiplier for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties with a RV below £51,000: 38.2p
• small multiplier for non-RHL properties with a RV below £51,000: 43.2p
• standard multiplier for RHL properties with RV £51,000-£499,999: 43p
• standard multiplier for non-RHL properties with RV £51,000-£499,999: 48p
• high-value multiplier for all properties with RV £500,000 or more: 50.8p

The Government’s stated aim is to provide long-term certainty and support to high street occupiers, but market commentary in the wake of the announcement has been mixed, particularly in relation to larger businesses who may now find themselves in the ‘top’ tier and face a significant annual cost.

The Budget also confirmed that the reliefs heralding from the COVID-19 pandemic for RHL businesses will continue to be reduced, although a transitional relief which caps liability increases will be introduced to support those ratepayers who, under the new regime, face a large increase in their bill. The transitional relief will be paid for by a 1p supplement for those businesses not receiving either that relief or the Supporting Small Business relief in 2026/27.

The new rates will come into effect from April 2026.

Ban on upwards only rent review:

One of the more controversial items on this list, the proposed ban on upwards only rent reviews for business tenancies is making its way through Parliament as we speak and at the time of writing is in its second reading in the House of Lords. We first reported on this following its discovery in July. 

Contained in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, the proposals as drafted apply to leases which are granted or varied (to include rent review terms which do not specify the level of new rent) after the provisions come into force. As well as prohibiting upwards only rent reviews, the drafting includes provisions empowering a tenant to trigger a rent review in certain (albeit limited) situations. Revisions following the Commons committee stage purported to address concerns expressed by tenants, specifically in situations involving superior leases and underleases.

‘Stepped rents’ which provide for rent to be amended to a specified, increased figure at a particular time are not captured by the draft prohibition.

For a recent update on the current proposals, see our commentary here.

Where are we with building safety?

2025 has without a doubt been a big year for the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) which has faced reams of judicial scrutiny and is also due to encounter reform shortly. 

Some of the most highly-discussed cases of the year fall into the remit of the BSA. Both Adriatic Land 5 Ltd v The Long Leaseholders of Hippersley Point¹ and Triathlon Homes LLP v Stratford Village Development Partnership & Others² reached the Court of Appeal this year, affirming the retrospective effect of the BSA’s provisions. Both decisions are being appealed. As this area is continually evolving, we’ll be keeping an eye out for further developments in 2026.

In other news, the Building Safety Levy, a new tax on residential buildings to be used to fund remediation of building safety defects, is due to come into operation on 1 October 2026. Anyone who submits an application for building control which is within the remit of The Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 will be liable to pay the levy (unless exempt). This will apply to residential development above a minimum threshold and will include retirement housing, purpose-built student accommodation, and mixed use schemes with residential floorspace, whether or not they fall into the “high risk” category under the BSA.

Reforms to the Building Safety Regulator are also on the horizon, with the stated aim of unlocking current delays to building new high-rise homes having been announced in June 2025. The reforms, which we are yet to hear more on, include a new fast track process for newbuild applications.

Security of tenure reform:

Another key regulatory change which we reported on this time last year was the consultation on the reform to Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The conclusions of the first consultation (see our report from July 2025) suggests that any process reforms will be limited in scope. However, the second consultation on the detail of the revised proposals and revised legislation is expected during 2026.

Contractual controls register

Introduced by the previous Government pursuant to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2024, the “contractual controls register” will be a new system, operated through HM Land Registry, which will make public details of certain agreements imposing controls on land. A consultation (accompanied by draft regulations) sought views on the proposals, which would require registration of required information relating to a wide range of contractual arrangements including option agreements, pre-emption rights and conditional contracts. The system will be backed up by criminal offences for non-compliance.

Despite a slow start, there have been recent indications that we can expect some movement during 2026. For example, the Housing Minister’s letter to HM Land Registry (published in March 2025) listed contractual controls as one of the main priorities to be addressed during 2026. Alongside this, HM Land Registry has started gathering opinions and intel on the proposed system from local authorities.  

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LFRA) received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, having been fast-tracked prior to the 2024 general election. LFRA has faced its fair share of challenges to date, having recently prevailed against a judicial review challenge brought by freeholders alleging that the amendments were incompatible with Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, but is now cleared for implementation. 

The majority of LFRA’s provisions (such as those relating to a ban on leasehold houses, reform of leasehold enfranchisement, regulation of estate management and service charges, and certain aspects of right to manage) are not yet in force. However, there have been recent consultations designed to seek views on implementation, most recently, the consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services, which closed on 26 September 2025, and which we reported on in our July Real Estate Focus. We will be watching this space for the outcome of the consultations, including further regulations and Government guidance.

Reform of commercial leasehold matters:

In September 2025, the Law Commission published its “14th Programme of Reform”, with one of its key focus points being commercial leasehold reform.

Split into two sections, the proposed project will seek to scrutinise issues with key legislation governing commercial leases (the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987) and secondly to review the law governing the maintenance, repair and upgrading of leased commercial buildings. The latter will be a scoping project to gain an understanding of the issues and consider where law reform might be an appropriate solution.

Real estate practitioners will also be interested in the proposed review of the law relating to deeds, particularly in the current climate where the use of electronic signatures and smart contracts are on the rise.

We previously provided a summary of the proposal pack here. The timings for next steps remain to be announced, and we can expect to hear more on this during 2026.

What's next for energy performance?

Energy performance, in particular the system for calculating Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and the triggers and requirements for minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) have been a focus point for the Government for a while now. It has been widely noted in market commentary that the existing EPC regime is outdated, and that reform is required to the current MEES requirements.

By way of summary, the relevant consultations in 2025 were:

• a consultation (which closed on 26 February 2025) on reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) regime which, amongst other things, proposed updates to EPCs to take into account a broader range of metrics as against the current, single metric rating regime; and
• a consultation (which closed on 2 May 2025) on proposals to raise MEES for private rented homes in England and Wales by 2030 to require a rating broadly equivalent to a ‘C’ under the current EPC regime.

We expect to hear more on the outcome of these consultations (on which we reported here and here), in 2026, with implementation of both also expected in 2026.

As the festive period takes hold, it is clear that 2026 is set to bring some big changes in the world of real estate which we will be keeping a close eye on. But before that onslaught, it is now time to sit back and relax a bit - we hope you have an enjoyable festive break and head into 2026 ready for whatever comes next.