Law Reform blogs

Law Commission has published its interim statement on the future of the 1954 Act, setting out its provisional conclusions about the current model of security of tenure, what types of tenancy should benefit from security of tenure under the 1954 Act, and what duration of tenancy should benefit. PLA Law Reform Committee member, Nyree Applegarth, provides a summary of the conclusions.

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (the Act) —commonly referred to as Martyn’s Law—received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. Named after Martyn Hett one of 22 people who died at the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, Martyn’s Law is designed to improve the preparedness of public venues in the event of a terrorist attack. Member of the PLA Law Reform Committee, Dr Emily Carroll, outlines what this means for Qualifying Premises with a capacity of 200 people or more.

Eloise Illingworth of the PLA LRC attended the most recent Tribunal (Lands Chamber) Users’ meeting on 22 January 2025. In this blog, we have set out below the key takeaways and tips for PLA members and Tribunal users gleaned from the meeting.

The Law Reform Committee wrote to Matthew Pennycook, the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, and Lord Livermore, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in January setting out proposals for reform of private property law constraints on housebuilding. The LRC would welcome any thoughts PLA members may have in relation to these proposals.

The “registration gap” problem is a feature of the registered land system. In this seventh edition of their blog series, the Law Reform Committee explore the problem and offer possible solutions.

The Freehold and Leasehold Reform Act 2024 aims to reform home homeownership. In this 6th Edition of the Law Reform Committee blog series, Committee members, Sabrina Furneaux-Gotch and Emily Carroll, explore the key proposed changes.

The Property Litigation Association's Law Reform Committee has recently engaged in the Government's consultation on 'Contractual controls on land' and the proposal to collect data about these types of contracts.

The Property Litigation Association's Law Reform Committee and Property Bar Association were pleased to jointly host a panel debate in December 2023 to explore the pros and cons of Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The debate took place in the context of the Law Commission's forthcoming consultation paper, expected to be published during the course of late 2024.

The Central London County Court has confirmed that the FTT Unopposed Lease Renewal Pilot Scheme (whereby unopposed 1954 Act lease renewal claims issued at Central London County Court are automatically transferred to be case-managed and heard by the First Tier Tribunal (FTT)) has come to an end with immediate effect.

This blog summarises main messages arising from the latest Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber Users' group meeting on 5 October 2023.