Q&As

Q&As

These Q&As seek to briefly address common questions faced when dealing with Property matters.

The Q&As supplement and link to other more detailed content within Lexis+®, but are intentionally short. It is anticipated that a brief Q&A will be most helpful when you need a quick overview of an issue and its likely impact. This might arise, for example, for lawyers needing to provide advice, provide business development or training at short notice. The Q&A content on Lexis+® is date stamped. This date is the publish date and states the law at the date of publishing.

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Latest Property News

Property weekly highlights—12 February 2026

This week's edition of Property weekly highlights includes: more on the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, a progress update from RICS on its Home Survey Standard review, publication of a Law Commission scoping report on agricultural law in Wales and cases on the Electronic Communications Code and the basis of occupation after the expiry of a lease, whether the provision of services qualified as rent, service charges and the cost of remediating structural defects, a dispute over a hotel development, modification of restrictive covenants, the ‘Etridge’ principles in relation to loan transactions, business rates and CVAs and SDLT.

Law Commission publishes scoping report on agricultural law in Wales

The Law Commission has published a scoping report on agricultural law applicable in Wales, concluding that the fragmented legislative framework could be modernised, simplified and made more accessible through a potential bilingual code. The report examines approximately 150 laws originating from the Senedd, UK Parliament, EU derived assimilated law and secondary legislation, identifying which legislation could form part of a future code and highlighting technical issues requiring modernisation, repeal or further analysis. The report forms part of the Welsh Government’s wider programme to improve the accessibility of Welsh law and ministers must provide an interim response within six months and a full response within a year.

RICS publishes progress update on Home Survey Standard review

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published a progress update on its review of the Home Survey Standard for residential property surveys in the UK. After an eight-week consultation period from 19 August–14 October 2025, RICS received over 1,000 comments. Feedback indicated that the draft standard requires clearer and more concise requirements. The standard will now progress through additional review stages, including an editorial review, a professional panel review and regulatory approval before it is finalised. RICS will provide a further progress update by the end of March 2026.

Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill—the demise of the long leasehold flat, abolition of residential ground rent and new ways for landlords to redress tenant breaches on long leases

Property analysis: The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published on 27 January 2026. Its stated purpose: to bring the feudal leasehold system to an end by reforming and reinvigorating commonhold tenure and banning the use of leasehold tenure for most new flats. Written by Alexandra Selka, Jasmine Sherr, Rachel Katz, Victoria Duxbury, Alexandra Holloway and Harriet Raff of BCLP.