Upward only Rent Review Ban: Could Your Lease Be Caught Retrospectively?

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (the “Bill”) introduced to Parliament on 10 July 2025 includes a ban on upward-only rent reviews. We have published several articles commenting on these proposals, which are available here.

The Bill has now completed its third and final reading in the House of Lords and moved to the House of Commons with amendments. It is now at the crucial stage where the Commons will consider the Lords' amendments before royal assent. This is the last stage for MPs to discuss and potentially alter the provisions of the ban on upwards only rent reviews. 

A key change introduced by the Lords will make the ban partially retrospective. The amendment will mean that any lease entered into from 17 March 2026 onwards (and not the date the Bill comes into force), which includes a renewal option, or requires the tenant to enter a new lease, will be subject to the upward-only rent review ban for both initial and future reviews in the renewed lease.  This applies not just to renewal options within the original lease but also to separate option agreements, whether in a side letter or separate deed, granted at the same time or later.

This means, as proposed, a lease entered into now can lawfully contain an upward-only review clause for the first review period, but its renewal option will trigger the ban when renewed. Although the Bill is not yet enacted, and this provision may yet be revised or removed, parties negotiating leases with renewal options should consider how the rent review terms might be affected. This will impact sectors that have traditionally avoided security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 by using contractual renewal options.

It is anticipated that shorter leases, stepped rents, and index-linked reviews may become the norm for a standard lease structure.

The Bill is expected to receive Royal assent in the first half of 2026, with the ban on upward only rent review in force sometime in 2027 or 2028. 

An issue which remains outstanding and allows for flexibility in rent reviews is the potential exclusion of “caps and collars” (maximum/minimum increases) from the ban. There is increasing industry comment that the government (as stated when the Bill was published) will consult on how these could operate before the upward only rent review ban comes into force. Cap and collar rent reviews provide an alternative methodology and some security for lenders and investors. 

We will continue to monitor the Bill’s progress as MPs consider the Lord’s amendments. Any interested parties should stay alert as developments unfold as this remains a watch this space area of law.