What goes up, might come down… sooner than expected

Update on the proposed ban on upwards only rent reviews.

Since our November 2025 article on the proposed ban on upwards only rent reviews, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill has continued its passage through Parliament and has now reached the Report Stage in the House of Lords. A recent amendment tabled by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage has shifted expectations about how the ban may operate in practice and could widen its scope in a way that affects transactions completing now.

The proposed amendment – potential retrospective effect

As at the latest version of the Bill, published on 5 March 2026, the ban on upwards only rent reviews is not retrospective, save for a limited exception relating to certain superior lease clauses. However, the newly proposed amendment would broaden the ban so that, for leases granted on or after 17 March 2026, the following would fall within its scope:

• The starting rent of a new lease granted under a contractual renewal right contained within that lease; and

• Any rent reviews within that renewed lease.

This means that a lease completed on or after 17 March 2026 that contains a contractual right to renew could be caught by the ban, despite the legislation still making its way through Parliament.

The potential impact

Parties to commercial leases should be aware of the potential implications of this change.

The amendment looks back to the date of the original lease that contains the contractual renewal right. If that original lease is dated on or after 17 March 2026, then if the Bill becomes law, the starting rent of any renewed lease and any rent reviews within that lease will be subject to the prohibition on upwards only rent reviews.

If the amendment is enacted as proposed, this brings leases already entered into, and those completing now or currently being negotiated, within the scope of the ban. For transactions still at the negotiation stage, heads of terms should be drafted to reflect this.

Key takeaway

Commercial leases completing on or after 17 March 2026 that include a contractual renewal option may be caught by the proposed prohibition on upwards only rent reviews. Renewal provisions should be reviewed carefully to factor in the potential changes.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article further, please contact the Property team on 0113 244 6100.

You can also keep up to date by following Wrigleys Solicitors on LinkedIn.

The information in this article is necessarily of a general nature.  The law stated is correct at the date (stated above) this article was first posted to our website.

Specific advice should be sought for specific situations. If you have any queries or need any legal advice, please feel free to contact Wrigleys Solicitors.