News | Legal/Legislation

18 December 2025
Government's 'build baby build' Planning and Infrastructure Bill becomes law
The government's flagship Planning and Infrastructure Act has become law, with the Labour party promising "seismic planning reforms" that will remove blockages and delays to accelerate the construction of tens of thousands of homes.
9 December 2025
The receipts and expenditure business rates reckoning
The 2026 draft local rating lists have landed, and one thing is already clear: the receipts and expenditure method, once a niche valuation approach used only for a handful of specialist assets, is now one of the most consequential forces in the business rates system. For many properties, it has become the driver of the biggest increases in rateable values ever seen.
8 December 2025
Municipal development charges cited as significant cost for builders
Some developers are saying municipal development charges have put a stick in the spokes of their real estate projects in Canada, just as Ottawa pushes for a surge in construction, and a new federal research study shows how such fees can vary widely across the country.
28 November 2025
Transitional Relief plans labelled '£785 million tax grab' by specialist firm
The government’s new Transitional Relief arrangements in England will result in a £785 million "tax grab" next year, global tax firm Ryan has warned, arguing that it will shift even more of the cost of business rates support away from the Exchequer and on to ratepayers.
26 November 2025
Budget 2025: Real estate demand to lean towards business-to-business sector as consumers squeezed
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, thanks to the sheer volume of leaks to the media, contained few surprises. However, for the property market there were two key takeaways.
18 November 2025
Housebuilder wins Peel Liverpool Waters battle at High Court
The High Court has delivered a judgment in favour of housebuilder Romal Capital (C02) in a test case dispute with Peel L&P (Ports) concerning Peel's giant Liverpool Waters regeneration scheme.
17 November 2025
Flexible office operators urge reversal of 'unfair tax grab'
(Updated on 17 November 2025 to add VOA comment)
14 November 2025
Government maps timeline for Renters’ Rights Act introduction
The Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government has outlined plans for the staggered implementation of the Renters Rights Act 2025, following its passing last month.
6 November 2025
Here’s what real estate pros say now about New York’s next mayor
Real estate executives said they are trying to find the best steps forward under a new political reality: Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is now mayor-elect of New York City.
28 October 2025
How would New York real estate look with Mayor Mamdani? These cities may offer clues.
Zohran Mamdani is the clear front-runner to become the next mayor of New York City, creating what a number of real estate investors and business leaders view as an existential crisis.
23 October 2025
What’s stopping the UK construction industry from going global?
This September, I took a business trip to Seoul, Korea. As the director of a law firm that regularly works with clients across the globe, it was not the first time I had visited the country but, as always, I was struck by the warmth of the welcome. In a fortnight full of meetings with Korean contractors, law firms, and even the Korean Minister of Justice, I experienced first-hand the enthusiasm for international collaboration that has distinguished the Korean construction industry on the world stage.
7 October 2025
Montreal could join other large cities in taxing vacant homes
Montreal could soon join Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa in taxing empty homes, as the mayoral candidate for the ruling Projet Montreal has pledged to introduce fees on owners of vacant residential properties.
2 October 2025
Badenoch's plan to tear up climate legislation 'hugely damaging', warns BPF
Conservative Party proposals that seek to scrap the UK's net zero targets show a deterioration of political consensus to tackle climate change, the British Property Federation has warned.
29 September 2025
'Ambition alone will not build homes': Industry seeks reform to help government with New Towns
"Targeted and robust interventions" to ease issues around planning and capital costs are required to help the government deliver three New Towns before the middle of 2029, real estate experts have argued.
26 September 2025
Government looks to 'revive' struggling high streets with £5 billion funding package
Government plans to invest £5 billion into struggling high streets must be coupled with business rates reform if Downing Street wants to help landlords secure tenants, the British Property Federation has warned.
16 September 2025
Top planning lawyer brought in to advise government on reforms
The government has appointed leading planning lawyer Catherine Howard to help drive through planning reforms ahead of the Autumn Budget.
5 September 2025
Housing secretary Rayner resigns after property tax row
British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech is calling on the government to use Angela Rayner's departure as an opportunity to rethink its plans to scrap upward-only rent reviews.
2 September 2025
British Columbia's new local residential targets would add nearly 39,000 units
British Columbia said new minimum residential construction targets would add almost 39,000 units across 10 cities in the next five years, to address the growing housing shortage.
19 August 2025
British Columbia leaders reject call by real estate developers to ease foreign buyer ban
British Columbia provincial leaders rejected a call by Vancouver's largest developers for the government to loosen restrictions on foreign investment in real estate as the country grapples with a housing crisis.
11 August 2025
Trump nominates former Cushman & Wakefield CEO to head federal property agency
President Donald Trump nominated a former leader of commercial real estate services giant Cushman & Wakefield to head the government’s civilian real estate portfolio shortly after a shakeup at the top of the federal agency.

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