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28 November 2025 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8141 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way , CPR
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Civil way: 28 November 2025

Back to school for housing; commercial litigators beware; latest fee hikes; longer with ACAS; more Help with Fees.

UNDER STARTER’S ORDERS

You may have heard. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (spot the apostrophe) is here, and its first main tranche of reforms will be brought into force on 1 May 2026. Just think of the conferences, textbooks, endless articles by former district judges, subordinate legislation, forms, county court logjams. You could take a small boat to Utopia. What you may not have heard is that I am running at a loss. I’ve printed out the whole Act. 241 pages and four paper jams.

The vote-winning abolition of assured shortholds and s 21 Housing Act 1988 notices (later for social tenancies) and new and revised possession grounds are among the first tranche of inclusions. Some stuff comes in on 27 December 2025 (s 145(5)): long tenancies* and financial services products (s 31); accommodation for homeless people and students (s 32); abandoning premises under assured shortholds in England;

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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