The Law Commission is currently undertaking a wide-ranging review of Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.

The 1954 Act is now 70 years old and this review is an opportunity to make sure that it remains fit for purpose, and meets the needs of both landlords and tenants.

Business Tenancies consultation

This is the first phase of the Law Commission’s Business Tenancies project and focuses on security of tenure. It will later be followed by a more technical consultation, which will explore the detail of how the recommended model should work.

At this stage, there are four possible models presented within the consultation including mandatory security of tenure, no statutory security of tenure (abolition), contracting-in (so that a tenancy only has statutory security of tenure if the parties opt into a statutory scheme), and contracting-out (so that a tenancy has statutory security of tenure unless the parties opt out of a statutory scheme) (the current model).

Additional questions explore views on experiences in Wales, as well as more broadly which tenancies should be in scope and covered by the 1954 Act.

Share your views

RICS has been engaging on this project for some time and during the pre-consultation phase including with the Law Commission directly. RICS members representing different areas of the commercial property market have been supporting this activity via a dedicated working group offering a wealth of expertise.

We are also keen to hear from all RICS members in England and Wales with an interest in this consultation.

If you would like to inform RICS’ response, please share any evidence by Friday 31 January 2025 via email to Nell Brown in the Public Affairs team: nbrown2@rics.org.

Respond to the Law Commission survey

The Law Commission is welcoming responses from landlords, tenants, professionals e.g. legal, property and organisations with an interest in the business tenancies project. The survey is intended to ensure that there is a strong evidence base and understanding of how the 1954 Act is operating in the current commercial leasehold market.

You can access and respond to the survey yourself here. The consultation and survey both close on 19 February 2025.

Find out more

The Law Commission team is hosting events to share more about the project.

You can register via the links below:

Online, 4 February (18:30-19:30)

Addleshaw Goddard LLP, Leeds, 21 January (17:00-18:00)

Cardiff University, 10 February (14:00-15:00)

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