When your lease expires
When a lease expires, all legal rights in the property revert to the landlord (freeholder). This does not mean you automatically have to leave your home. But you have less rights and legal protections. If you want to stay in your home, you should take action before your lease expires and get urgent advice if your lease has or is about to expire.
Check when your lease expires
Check the length of a lease using our online tool.
Your lease will tell you the date when it expires (known as the “term”). You can usually get a copy of your lease from the Land Registry. The solicitor who handled the purchase of your home can confirm the date and might have a copy of your lease too. If you want, you can ask your landlord or the managing agent or company for the date the lease expires.
Before your lease expires
Take action now – you have more options available to you before your lease expires than after.
You could extend your lease or buy the freehold – the government’s leasehold reforms aim to make both these options cheaper and easier for leaseholders.
If extending your lease or buying the freehold is not right for you, speak to a solicitor to get advice on what you can do.
After your lease expires
What actually happens when your lease expires will vary.
It is possible your landlord might:
- offer you a tenancy agreement (also known as an “occupation contract” in Wales) – you will be renting so expect to pay a monthly rent
- ask you to leave – they must get a court’s permission to evict you
- offer you a new lease
You might still be able to extend the lease or buy the freehold, but there are strict time limits and it is usually only the case for houses (if you remained in occupation).
The time limits will depend on what your landlord does or if you have already told them you want to leave.
We recommend you speak to a solicitor to get advice on what you can do and not to delay doing this.
If you want to leave
Your rights and legal protections can change if you tell your landlord you want to leave. Get legal advice before doing this so you understand exactly what these changes are.
Security of tenure
Security of tenure means that although you are no longer the leaseholder:
- you have the right to stay in your home on the same terms unless you choose to leave or the landlord offers you a "tenancy agreement"
- the landlord has fewer grounds (reasons) when they are allowed to ask a court to evict you
If offered a tenancy agreement, it must be an assured periodic tenancy (in England) or a periodic standard contract (in Wales).
The rent can be at a new market rate.
If you do not agree to the terms of the agreement or the rent, you can ask a tribunal to settle the matter. In England, it's the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). In Wales, it's the Rent Assessment Committee within the Residential Property Tribunal.
You can lose the benefits that you get from security of tenure if you do not respond in time to a formal notice (often called a Landlord’s Notice or Form 1) from your landlord, or tell them you want to leave.
About the tenancy/contract
The “tenancy/contract“ is a type of rental agreement. It can have no end date, carry on until you end it and there are more limited grounds (reasons) when a landlord can ask a court to evict you.
Citizens Advice and Shelter have more detailed information on this type of tenancy/contract.
Check if you qualify for security of tenure
You might qualify for security of tenure if all the following apply:
- you have a residential lease (not business or mixed-use)
- you have a long-lease (originally granted to last more than 21 years)
- the lease has not been extended before using the statutory right to extend
- the property is your only home or main home
- your landlord is not a local authority, housing association, charitable trust or the Crown
- your ground rent is zero or classed as “low”
- the value of the property (based on a rateable value) is not classed as “high”
Determining the ground rent or property value is best done by a professional, such as a solicitor, surveyor or valuation specialist. They will need details including the date the lease was granted, the purchase price and the length of the lease.
What is a “low” ground rent or “high” rateable value for security of tenure - Show Contents Hide Contents
Low ground rent
For leases dated on or after 1 April 1990, a ground rent is low if it’s £1,000 or less a year in Greater London or £250 or less a year elsewhere.
For leases dated before 1 April 1990, a ground rent is low if it was less than two-thirds of the rateable value of the property on 31 March 1990 (any ground rent increase should be below two thirds of rateable value).
The government’s planned leasehold reforms are expected to stop people being disqualified for security of tenure based on their ground rent being too "high".
High rateable value
For leases dated before 1 April 1990, a rateable value is “high” if on 31 March 1990 it was more than £1,500 in Greater London or £750 elsewhere.
For leases dated before then or where no rateable value is available, it will have to be calculated using a complex formula that determines if the equivalent rateable value is more than £25,000. Get a professional to do this.
Rateable values are sometimes available from your local council or your water company.
Eviction
Only a court can order your eviction and there is a strict legal process your landlord must follow.
Always get urgent legal advice if you are at risk of being evicted.
You can get free eviction advice and support from organisations like Citizens Advice or Shelter. You can also get free legal help from the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service if you have received a written notice that someone is seeking possession of your home.
- Last updated:
- 22 December 2025
- Next review:
- 22 December 2027
Related content
How to extend the lease of your flat, including getting started, your options and costs.
Topic - Lease extensionHow lease extension works for leasehold houses and how it differs from flats.
Advice guide