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Property law brief: quarterly review (July 2025)

18 July 2025 / Fern Schofield , Gwyneth Everson
Issue: 8125 / Categories: Features , Property , Commercial , Housing , Landlord&tenant
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Fern Schofield & Gwyneth Everson round up the lessons learnt from key property decisions in Spring 2025
  • Courts may require residential tenants seeking relief to assume commercial lease obligations.
  • The Court of Appeal clarified that land held under a statutory trust is not exempt from adverse possession claims under the Land Registration Act 2002, and that boundary agreements are binding on successors in title whether or not they had knowledge of it.
  • Several cases reinforced that actual occupation must be continuous and evident to bind third parties.

In this latest quarterly roundup, we explore some of the most notable recent decisions in property law from March, April and May 2025. To make sense of the varied terrain, we’ve grouped them into three distinct categories: cases primarily concerned with private individuals; cases with technical detail; and cases turning on the assessment of evidence.

Individual interests

Derwent Lodge Estates Ltd v Signature Living Hotel Ltd (in administration) and others [2025] 3 WLUK 402

Relief

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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