The Government’s proposed ban on upward-only rent reviews, introduced in July last year, received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026.
In our September 2025 blog, we discussed the Government’s proposed ban on upward-only rent review (“UORR”) clauses in commercial leases, as part of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act (the “Act”).
We provided updated guidance in our January 2026 blog noting some of the key amendments made as the Act passed through the House of Commons and House of Lords.
On 29 April 2026, the Act received Royal Assent and is now law. A commencement date for the ban has not yet been announced, and we await the implementation of regulations that will bring it into effect.
Summary of the Act
Our January blog highlighted the effects of the provisions of the Act and when it is applicable, it can be read here.
In short:
- the Act applies to all business tenancies regardless of whether the lease benefits from security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
- The Act will catch any rent review, where at the date the lease is granted, the reviewed rent is not yet known or calculable.
- Where a rent review includes an upwards-only provision, the provision will not be enforceable, and the reviewed rent will be the figure payable if the upwards-only review mechanism was not included.
- Tenants will, where a review process requires a trigger notice to start the review, have the right to trigger the process where this right is exclusively given to the landlord under a lease.
- Any provision in a superior lease requiring an underlease to contain a UORR will be ineffective.
Additionally, the Act now has some retrospective effect. UORR clauses in renewal leases that are entered into pursuant to a lease granted on or after 17 March 2026 are banned.
The Act catches renewal leases granted pursuant to options contained within the original lease, or in separate options to renew.
Practical considerations
Parties negotiating new leases or renewal structures now need to consider how rent review provisions will operate on a downwards basis.
Index-linked and market-based rent reviews are permitted under the ban, as long as they have the ability to go down as well as up.
Stepped rent reviews, where specific increases are defined, remain permissible under the Act. Landlords and tenants agreeing to increases in rent payable at the outset of a lease, is where the difficulty may arise.
Contact Our Commercial Property Team
For practical advice on how to address the impacts of the Act on commercial lease negotiations, speak to a member of our Commercial Property team
0161 941 4000
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Andrew Stone
Partner
Andrew Stone is a Partner in the Commercial Property team at Myerson Solicitors.
With a career that spans private practice and in-house roles, Andrew advises investors, developers, and businesses on acquisitions, leasing, and portfolio management across the industrial, office, retail and medical sectors.
About Andrew Stone