Scanning the real estate horizon, 2026
Here we look ahead to the New Year, which looks set to be another year of change for the real estate sector. Key themes include increasing regulation, planning change and ongoing transparency measures.
New Year 2026
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which contains the contentious provisions banning upwards-only rent reviews, will reach Committee stage where it will be examined line-by-line, to propose and debate amendments before it becomes law.
New Year 2026
This much-anticipated Bill will continue the leasehold reform agenda by banning new leasehold flats, invigorating commonhold as an alternative to leasehold, capping ground rents, ending forfeiture, and regulating managing agents.
January 2026
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero expects to publish the Warm Homes Plan in January 2026. The ECO scheme will end in March 2026, but the Warm Homes Plan is due to set out a replacement scheme to retrofit hundreds of thousands of homes.
21 January 2026
The Government is consulting on proposed changes to permitted development rights to support the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
27 January 2026
Operators of heat networks will become regulated under the Energy Act 2023, with Ofgem as regulator. This will catch energy services companies and some landlords, as explained here.
March 2026
The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 contains provisions for the creation of a register of contractual controls, expected to be implemented in 2026. There was a consultation in 2024 and HMLR has been preparing a pilot register which, it is thought, will go live in March 2026.
1 April 2026
Updated rateable values take effect following a revaluation exercise carried out by the Valuation Office Agency in respect of all commercial, and other non-domestic, properties in England and Wales.
1 May 2026
As set out in the Government's roadmap, phase 1 of the new renting regime comes into force in May. This includes abolishing ASTs and section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.
Spring 2026
As explored here, the Law Commission's 14th Programme of Law Reform includes a review of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995.
June 2026
The Court of Appeal will hear the landlord's appeal against the High Court's order to repay substantial sums for overcharged insurance rent to one of its tenants, Picture House Cinemas Limited, in London Trocadero (2015) LLP v Picturehouse Cinemas Limited [2025] EWHC 1247 (Ch)
Summer 2026
The Government has indicated that a new version of the NPPF will be implemented by the summer, after consultations have taken place.
30 September 2026
As part of the updated BSA guidance issued in 2024, from 30 September 2026 all new residential buildings exceeding 18 metres in height will be required to incorporate two separate staircases in their design, enhancing evacuation routes and improving overall fire safety standards.
1 October 2026
As explained here, anyone submitting an application for building control approval relating to the provision of one or more dwellings and/or one or more PBSA bedspaces on or after implementation will be liable to pay the levy, save where an exemption applies.
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The Law Commission consulted in 2025 about how best to ensure that chancel repair liability does not bind purchasers of land, unless it is registered, and therefore visible to purchasers. It is expected to publish a final report with recommendations in 2026.
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The Law Commission will launch a consultation in 2026 to consider the creation of a new right for freeholders on housing estates to take over the management of their estates, as part of its 14th programme of law reform.
