Electronic Communications Code
From April 2024, all proceedings concerning the Electronic Communications Code will need to be commenced in the First-Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) rather than the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
In addition, it is anticipated that Sections 61 to 64 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 will be brought into force by the end of 2024. These provisions deal with the situation where a subsisting agreement falls to be renewed under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 and the primary purpose of the tenancy is to confer Code rights. The approach to subsisting agreements will now be closer to the Code in certain ways. A new Section 34A is to be introduced which sets out the approach to assessing the rent payable which includes assumptions of “no network” and that more than one site is available to the operator. On 12 December 2023, the Government indicated it remained committed to implementing the remaining provisions of the Act before the end of 2024.
