Law Commission publishes interim findings on 1954 Act reform

The Law Commission has recently issued an interim statement summarising its provisional conclusions from its first consultation on reforming the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (see here for a summary of the Law Commission’s first consultation).

The consultation, conducted between November 2024 and February 2025, gathered input from over 160 stakeholders, including landlords, tenants, and industry professionals.

The Law Commission’s provisional conclusions are as follows:

1. Security of Tenure Model: The existing “contracting-out” model should be retained, as it strikes a good balance between landlords and tenants and avoids disrupting the commercial leasehold market.
2. Eligible Tenancies: It was generally agreed that the current list of excluded tenancies, such as agricultural leases, is fit for purpose and should remain unchanged.
3. Tenancy Duration: There was mixed feedback regarding the exclusion of tenancies under six months. However, the Commission provisionally supports raising the threshold to two years to provide greater flexibility for short-term leases.

These provisional conclusions will shape the Commission’s second consultation paper, focusing on the technical details of potential reforms, including changes to the contracting-out procedure. Following the second consultation, a report with final recommendations for reform will be issued (publication dates TBC).

To discuss how this could impact your properties, contact a member of the Property Disputes team.