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28 November 2025 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8141 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way , CPR
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Civil way: 28 November 2025

Back to school for housing; commercial litigators beware; latest fee hikes; longer with ACAS; more Help with Fees.

UNDER STARTER’S ORDERS

You may have heard. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (spot the apostrophe) is here, and its first main tranche of reforms will be brought into force on 1 May 2026. Just think of the conferences, textbooks, endless articles by former district judges, subordinate legislation, forms, county court logjams. You could take a small boat to Utopia. What you may not have heard is that I am running at a loss. I’ve printed out the whole Act. 241 pages and four paper jams.

The vote-winning abolition of assured shortholds and s 21 Housing Act 1988 notices (later for social tenancies) and new and revised possession grounds are among the first tranche of inclusions. Some stuff comes in on 27 December 2025 (s 145(5)): long tenancies* and financial services products (s 31); accommodation for homeless people and students (s 32); abandoning premises under assured shortholds in England;

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Joelson—Jennifer Mansoor

Joelson—Jennifer Mansoor

West End firm strengthens employment and immigration team with partner hire

JMW—Belinda Brooke

JMW—Belinda Brooke

Employment and people solutions offering boosted by partner hire

NEWS

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
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