Reform watch · Law Commission review

What's changing in the 1954 Act — and what to look out for.

Part II is being rewritten for the first time in decades. Nothing has changed yet: today's notices, deadlines and grounds still govern your renewal. But the direction of travel already affects how you should draft, time and negotiate.

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Where the review has got to

Nov 2024
Law Commission opens its review of Part II with Consultation Paper 1, asking whether security of tenure should be kept, abolished, made mandatory, or left as an opt-out model.
Jun 2025
Interim statement: the Commission provisionally concludes the contracting-out model stays, and the duration threshold for tenancies outside the Act should rise from six months.
16 Jun 2026
Consultation Paper 2 (CP 275), 'Modernising security of tenure', published — detailed proposals on qualifying criteria, renewal terms, rent, grounds of opposition and dispute resolution.
16 Sep 2026
Consultation closes. Responses can be filed online with the Ministry of Justice or given at the Commission's in-person sessions.
Expected 2027+
Final report with recommendations and a draft Bill. Any change then needs Parliamentary time, so today's rules govern renewals in the meantime — with transitional provisions to watch.

The proposals that matter

Each proposal below is still consultation material, not law. The "watch for" note is what to do about it while the current Act remains in force.

Your reform watchlist

Watch any proposal below and its milestones — consultation deadlines, expected reports and review prompts — appear here, ready to drop into your calendar with reminders ahead of each date. Kept in this browser; no sign-in needed.

The contracting-out model survives

Provisionally settled

After the first consultation the Commission provisionally decided against abolishing security of tenure and against making it mandatory. Protection stays the default, with the ability to contract out.

For the tenant

Your renewal right is not being taken away. The negotiation still turns on whether the lease is inside or outside the Act.

For the landlord

Contracting out remains available, so the standard warning-notice-and-declaration route to an unprotected lease will still exist in some form.

What to look out for

This is provisional, not law. Nothing changes until a Bill is passed, so continue to serve valid s.38A warning notices and take declarations.

Touchess.38A s.23Ask the assistant

Short-tenancy threshold likely to rise above six months

Out for consultation

The Commission provisionally proposes lifting the duration threshold so that tenancies below a longer minimum (a period of up to two years has been discussed) fall outside Part II automatically.

For the tenant

Short lettings you assume are protected may not be under a reformed Act. If continuity matters, push for a term above whatever the new threshold turns out to be.

For the landlord

Short-term and meanwhile-use lettings could become simpler — no contracting-out formalities for lettings under the threshold.

What to look out for

Leases granted now that straddle the change: check whether transitional rules apply to the grant date or the renewal date.

Touchess.23 s.27Ask the assistant

Most periodic tenancies may be excluded

Out for consultation

CP2 asks whether the majority of periodic tenancies should be taken outside the Act altogether, on the basis that they are not the long-term business occupations the Act was designed to protect.

For the tenant

A rolling monthly or quarterly arrangement could lose renewal rights entirely. Holding over on a periodic basis would become a much weaker position.

For the landlord

Periodic arrangements would become a cleaner way to grant flexible occupation without contracting out.

What to look out for

Tenants currently holding over under s.24 on periodic terms — this is the single proposal with the biggest downside risk for them.

Touchess.23 s.24Ask the assistant

A simplified contracting-out procedure

Out for consultation

The two-stage warning notice plus simple or statutory declaration is under review. Options include a single-step process, or exclusion recorded in the lease itself.

For the tenant

Fewer procedural traps means fewer arguments that an exclusion failed. The 'the notice was late' defence may become rarer.

For the landlord

Lower risk of an accidentally protected lease from a botched declaration — a common and expensive defect today.

What to look out for

Until it changes, the current formalities are strictly applied. Do not shortcut the notice-then-declaration sequence.

Touchess.38AAsk the assistant

Renewal terms, green clauses and the O'May test

Out for consultation

The Commission is consulting on how the court fixes the terms of a renewal, including whether environmental and energy-efficiency obligations should be capable of being imposed on renewal.

For the tenant

Renewal could bring new sustainability obligations and costs. Price the capital exposure before committing to a court-determined lease.

For the landlord

A route to upgrade older leases with green clauses on renewal — currently hard under the O'May 'fair and reasonable' burden.

What to look out for

O'May v City of London Real Property [1983] 2 AC 726 still governs. Any statutory carve-out for green terms would be a real shift in bargaining power.

Touchess.34 s.35Ask the assistant

Turnover rents and a better interim rent

Out for consultation

CP2 asks whether the court should be able to order a turnover rent on renewal, and how the interim rent machinery in s.24A could be improved.

For the tenant

Retail and leisure occupiers may finally be able to carry a turnover model into a statutory renewal instead of losing it.

For the landlord

Turnover rent brings disclosure and verification obligations. Interim rent reform may reduce the delay-for-advantage tactic.

What to look out for

Interim rent is already the quiet money issue in most renewals — apply for it early rather than waiting for reform.

Touchess.34 s.24A–24DAsk the assistant

Ground (f) redevelopment and MEES

Out for consultation

The grounds of opposition are being reviewed to reflect modern construction methods and the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards regime — including whether energy-efficiency works can found a redevelopment ground.

For the tenant

A MEES-driven works ground would be easier for a landlord to establish than a classic ground (f) scheme. Compensation entitlement becomes the key fallback.

For the landlord

Potentially a cleaner path to vacant possession for retrofit works, without the S Franses 'would you do it anyway' intention problem.

What to look out for

S Franses Ltd v Cavendish Hotel [2018] UKSC 62 remains the test today: conditional intention still defeats ground (f).

Touchess.30 s.31A s.37Ask the assistant

Where renewal disputes are decided

Out for consultation

The Commission is consulting on whether unopposed and opposed renewals should stay in the county court, move elsewhere, or route through compulsory or encouraged ADR.

For the tenant

Cheaper, faster determination would help smaller occupiers who currently settle on poor terms rather than litigate.

For the landlord

Mandatory ADR would front-load cost and disclosure, and reduce the value of procedural delay.

What to look out for

Court deadlines are unchanged for now: the s.29A application must still be issued or the deadline agreed in writing before the termination date.

Touchess.24 s.29–29BAsk the assistant

Practical takeaways while reform is pending

Act on today's rules. Deadlines under s.25, s.26 and s.29–29B are unforgiving and unaffected by the review.
On long leases being granted now, consider what a reformed Act would mean at the renewal date — especially if the tenancy is periodic or short.
Keep contracting-out formalities strict. Simplification is proposed, not enacted.
If reform would hurt or help your business, respond to the consultation before it closes on 16 September 2026.

Need professional assistance with your lease?

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines under the 1954 Act are strict and a mis-served notice can cost you the renewal. If your matter is live, speak to a professional.

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