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08 May 2026
Issue: 8160 / Categories: Legal News , Civil way , Procedure & practice , Landlord&tenant , ADR , Personal injury
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NLJ this week: Civil procedure gets a spring overhaul

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation

Writing in NLJ this week, Gold surveys the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, including new possession grounds for landlords wishing to sell properties or house family members, alongside transitional provisions for students and existing tenancies. He notes that contractual rent review clauses are effectively abolished and jokes that the legislation ‘bizarrely’ encourages tenants to challenge rent increases in tribunals.

Elsewhere, Gold highlights the arrival of mandatory accreditation for ADR providers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, complete with a hefty £6,151 application fee.

He also reviews the 18th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines, which increase personal injury compensation brackets and expand aggravating factors in abuse claims. In one eye-catching update, he notes a High Court award of £125,000 in a domestic abuse case that narrowly missed inclusion in the new edition.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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