Lease extension: the formal route
What happens after you serve notice
Landlord’s requests for evidence and inspection
Within 21 days of receiving your Section 42 notice, the landlord may ask for evidence that you own the flat and how long you have owned it (this is sometimes known as a "deduction of title"). You must supply the requested evidence within 21 days of the landlord’s request. If you do not, the landlord may serve a default notice and apply to court to order you to provide it.
The landlord can inspect the flat for valuation. They must give you at least 3 days’ written notice.
Deposit
At any time after receiving your Section 42 notice, the landlord can demand a deposit of 10% of your proposed premium or £250, whichever is greater.
The landlord’s counter-notice (Section 45)
The landlord must serve a Section 45 counter-notice by the date in your Section 42 notice. Their counter-notice must do one of the following:
- admit your right and accept your terms (or propose different terms)
- challenge your right to a new lease, giving reasons – the county court will decide if you have the right. If the landlord challenges your right, they must apply to the county court within 2 months to have the issue decided. If they do not apply within that time, you may apply to the county court to have the terms of the new lease settled
- claim redevelopment grounds – the landlord can refuse if they can prove to the county court an intention to demolish or redevelop the building, but only if at the Section 42 notice date the unexpired term is less than 5 years
If the landlord does not serve a counter-notice in time
You can apply to the county court for a vesting order using the application form for the determination of premium or other terms. This asks the court to grant the new lease on the terms in your Section 42 notice. Apply within 6 months of the date the counter-notice was due.
If you cannot agree the price or terms
After the landlord serves a counter-notice, there is a 2- to 6-month negotiation window.
After the first 2 months (but within 6 months), either party may apply to a tribunal for a determination of the premium and/or disputed terms: the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England, or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales.
Find out more about applying to the tribunal.
The tribunal’s decision becomes final after 28 days. If you disagree, you may seek permission to appeal before the decision becomes final.
Once the tribunal decision is final, you and the landlord have 2 months to complete the new lease. If completion has not occurred within 2 months, you have a further 2 months to apply to the county court for an order requiring the landlord to complete.
Find the application form to request a decision on lease price and terms of acquisition.
Absent or insolvent landlords
If the landlord is a company in receivership (where a receiver is appointed to manage a company’s affairs), you must serve the Section 42 notice on the receiver, who acts as the landlord during that period.
If your landlord is an individual who is bankrupt, serve the trustee in bankruptcy. They must respond and grant the new lease under the procedures in the Act which have been outlined above.
If, after all reasonable efforts, you cannot find the landlord, you cannot serve a Section 42 notice. You can apply to the county court for a vesting order to grant the new lease in the landlord’s absence. If the court is satisfied that you qualify, it will grant the lease and usually instruct the tribunal to determine the premium.
Special situations
Most leaseholders can extend their lease through either the formal or informal route.
However, some situations fall outside the usual process, such as if you’re selling or buying a flat with a short lease, if you’ve just inherited or bought the property, or when your landlord is missing.
Read more about when the usual lease extension process does not apply.
- Last updated:
- 22 December 2025
- Next review:
- 22 December 2027
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