2025 is shaping up to be a busy year with a number of important changes due to be implemented by new legislation. In this article we take a look at a few of the changes affecting litigation and Dispute Resolution.
Making court documents publicly available
Throughout 2024, the Civil Procedure Rules Committee has been conducting a consultation on changes to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) that would give non-parties to litigation greater access to court documents, without the need to make an application to the court.
The trigger for the consultation was the Supreme Court case of Cape Intermediate Holdings Limited v Dring [2019]. In that case a support group requested access to all disclosable documents before trial. The Court of Appeal allowed the group access to some documents, but this was beyond the scope of the current wording of CPR 5.4C. On appeal the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision on the basis that the open justice principle requires that the public should be allowed access to documents placed before the court.
The current wording of CPR 5.4C allows a non-party to litigation to obtain copies of the following documents:
- Statements of case
- Orders
- Judgments
The proposed changes to CPR 5.4C would increase the number of documents that can be obtained without the court’s permission to the following:
- Skeleton Arguments
- Witness statements and affidavits (but NOT exhibits)
- Expert reports (except medical reports)
The consultation process on these changes has essentially concluded and it’s anticipated that the amendments to the CPR will be introduced at some point in 2025.
The impact of these proposed changes could be significant for companies and individuals who are engaged in litigation but wish to keep sensitive and/or confidential information out of the public domain.
Full steam ahead on the Renters’ Rights Bill
The Renters’ Rights Bill has been working its way through parliament in 2024. The Bill is still in the House of Commons but has now completed the 1st and 2nd readings and committee stage. It is currently in the report stage before it goes to a 3rd reading and then on to the House of Lords.
The Bill is proposing radical reforms to the residential rental market in England and the key provisions are as follows:
- Abolishing fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs).
- Abolishing no fault evictions under section 21 Housing Act 1988.
- Changes to the grounds for possession.
- Changes to the process for increasing rent.
- Extending Awaab’s Law to the private sector so landlords have a duty to investigate and fix reported health hazards.
Focusing on the changes to the type of tenancies that will be available, all new residential tenancies will be assured periodic tenancies (APTs). Any fixed term stated in a tenancy agreement will not be enforceable.
Any existing ASTs will become APTs.
It will not be possible to end an APT on a “no fault” basis, as section 21 notices can no longer be used. Instead, a landlord will have to rely on the grounds for possession set out in Schedule 2 of Housing Act 1988, which it will need to prove in court. Those grounds for possession are being widened as part of the Bill, but it will make it more difficult for landlords to recover possession.
The changes above mainly apply to England, as in Wales housing is a devolved matter. The UK Government has sought consent from the Welsh Parliament to pass the Bill under a process called Standing Order 29. The Welsh Parliament has not yet granted consent and has asked for reports on the impact of the Bill to be submitted by 10 January 2025. Therefore, it is currently unclear how much of the Bill will be applicable in Wales.
The Bill still has a long way to go before it becomes law and so the proposed changes may undergo further re-drafting and amendment. However, the purpose of the Bill is to give tenants greater rights in the rental sector and so whatever form the Bill is in when it becomes legislation, landlords will need to adapt to the new landscape in the rental sector.
A different direction for the Freehold and Leasehold Reform Act 2024
This Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 and the purpose of the legislation was to improve the rights of tenants with long leases of houses and flats in England and Wales. The Act makes the following changes:
- Bans the grant of long leases of residential houses.
- Amends the law on enfranchisement and lease extensions.
- Extends the right to manage.
- Increased tenants’ rights on service charges, insurance, administration charges, litigation costs and sales information.
- Regulates estate management charges.
- Requires those who manage property to sign up to a mandatory redress scheme.
- Regulates the recovery of historic rent charges.
- Changes to the Building Safety Act 2022
Unfortunately, a large amount of the Act requires implementation through further regulations which have not yet been introduced. The Government made a ministerial statement on 21 November 2024 setting out how it would implement the act through further legislation.
The statement focused on the following areas:
- In January 2025, legislation will be introduced to remove the requirement for leaseholders to wait two years after buying a property before they can purchase the freehold or extend the lease.
- The changes to right to manage will be brought into force in spring 2025.
- Further consultations will be carried out on the changes to service charges, legal costs and valuation rates.
The Government is also focused on more radical changes to this area in 2025 and will be publishing a White Paper early in the new year on the reforms they want to make to commonhold title. This is part of the Government’s strategy to make commonhold the default type of land ownership in England and Wales.
Commonhold is a type of freehold interest but it is not the same as a freehold or leasehold. It combines freehold ownership of a single property within a larger development and ensures the owners of each unit are collectively in control, without another party being able to make decisions about how the development is run.
It seems the Government’s intention is for most of the Act to be fully in force by the end of 2025. It will be interesting to see how much progress is made on making commonhold a more widely used method of owning property.
If the Government is successful in making commonhold the default, it will involve substantial changes for landlords and those who manage properties that contain multiple residential units.
More delays to the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023
The Procurement Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 but is still yet to be fully implemented.
Originally the Act was due to come into force from 28 October 2024, but that was delayed until 24 February 2025 because the Government needed more time to produce a revised National Procurement Policy Statement.
The delay means that procurements (and resulting contracts) that are started on or after 24 February 2025 must comply with the provisions of the Act, whereas procurements (and resulting contracts) started before that date will continue to be regulated by the old regime.
Therefore, any parties involved in procurements on or soon after the go-live date for the Act should closely consider the Act and subsequent regulations as part of their planning.
One of the Act's main focuses is consolidating the old procurement regime into one act, as previously several acts applied to different types of procurement processes.
The Act was also a consequence of the UK and Northern Ireland leaving the EU as the previous legislation was based on EU directives on procurement. One of the potential difficulties with the Act is the uncertainty around how far the UK courts will follow decisions made under the old rules and whether they will still refer to European case law on procurement. This will make it difficult to predict how procurement challenges will be treated until some case law is established in relation to the Act. For a more detailed review of the changes brought in by the Act and the process for bringing a challenge to a procurement award under the new legislation, please refer to our guide here.
If you have any further questions please contact our Dispute Resolution solicitors.
