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31 October 2025 / Fern Schofield , Gwyneth Everson
Issue: 8137 / Categories: Features , Property , Landlord&tenant , Nuisance
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Property law brief: quarterly review (October 2025)

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Fern Schofield & Gwyneth Everson round up the headlines in property law, plus tackle procedural pointers & nuisance neighbours
  • Waller-Edwards v One Savings Bank Plc establishes that lenders are on inquiry of undue influence in any non-commercial transaction involving suretyship, aligning hybrid and pure suretyship cases.
  • Cases such as AmTrust Specialty v Endurance refine the approach to extended disclosure under PD 57AD, while Ap Wireless II v On Tower redefines the boundary between leases and licences.
  • Recent High Court and Upper Tribunal cases (Cooper v Ludgate House and Hassan v Heath) cover rights to light, restrictive covenants, and public benefit, showing courts’ pragmatic approach to property disputes and proportional relief.

This quarterly review considers several significant property law decisions from June to August 2025. The cases are grouped into three categories: high-level guidance from appellate courts, guidance, procedural developments, and disputes between neighbours.

High-level headlines

Waller-Edwards v One Savings Bank Plc [2025] UKSC 22

The Supreme Court

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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