Short answer
You can extend your lease informally by negotiating directly with the freeholder without triggering the statutory lease extension process under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. The informal route is faster and more flexible, but you have no statutory protection over the terms offered — unlike the formal route where the Tribunal sets the premium if you cannot agree.
If your lease has fewer than 80 years remaining, you should instruct a surveyor immediately — the premium increases sharply below 80 years under the old valuation formula (now abolished for statutory extensions from November 2026, but still relevant for informal negotiations).
1 The rule
Informal lease extensions are purely contractual — agreed between the leaseholder and freeholder without any court or tribunal involvement. The statutory route under the LRHUDA 1993 (as amended by the LFRA 2024) provides a backstop: if informal negotiations fail, the leaseholder can serve a Section 42 Notice to trigger the formal process.
"A qualifying tenant of a flat may… by notice… require the landlord to grant him a new lease of the flat in substitution for the existing lease."Read the official text
An informal extension agreed now takes effect immediately; a statutory extension under the 1993 Act is backdated to the Section 42 Notice date. This "freeze" of the premium date is one reason to serve a Section 42 Notice even while informally negotiating.
2 What you can do now
- Commission a lease extension valuation
Before approaching the freeholder, instruct a RICS-registered surveyor who specialises in lease extensions to value the premium. The premium reflects the loss of ground rent income, the deferral of the reversion, and (for leases under 80 years) a marriage value uplift. The surveyor's report tells you what a reasonable informal deal looks like and what the statutory route would cost. The Leasehold Advisory Service (<a href="https://www.lease-advice.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LEASE</a>) provides free initial guidance.
- Approach the freeholder
Write to the freeholder (or their managing agent) expressing your interest in extending the lease informally. Ask for their "asking premium" and proposed terms. Keep all correspondence in writing — email is fine. If the freeholder is unresponsive, consider instructing a surveyor to approach their freeholder's surveyors directly, which is the standard commercial practice.
- Negotiate the premium and terms
Negotiate the premium based on your surveyor's advice. Also negotiate the new lease terms: term (aim for 999 years following the LFRA 2024 standard); ground rent (should be zero — peppercorn); whether any restrictive covenants are updated; and the freeholder's legal costs (informal extensions require the leaseholder to pay the freeholder's reasonable legal fees). Keep the terms as close as possible to the statutory entitlement to avoid giving up rights.
- Instruct a conveyancing solicitor
Once terms are agreed in principle, instruct a solicitor who specialises in leasehold law to draft and negotiate the lease deed. They will check the title, ensure the new lease contains all required provisions, and register the new lease at the Land Registry. Do not sign any documents without legal advice — an informally extended lease is a binding contract.
3 When this does not apply
- If the freeholder refuses to negotiate or makes an unreasonably high offer, serve a formal Section 42 Notice under the LRHUDA 1993. This triggers the statutory process and fixes the valuation date. You can still reach an informal agreement after the Section 42 Notice is served.
- If the freeholder owns the freehold through a company, check whether the company is authorised to grant the lease extension — some freehold titles have restrictions or mortgages that affect this.
4 Common questions
Is an informal lease extension cheaper than the statutory route?
Not necessarily in premium terms — the same valuation principles apply to both. The informal route saves the cost of serving Section 42 and Section 45 Notices and potentially avoids Tribunal proceedings, but you lose the statutory protections (fixed timetable, Tribunal backstop). Informal extensions are often faster, which has a real value if you are selling or refinancing.
Can I lose my Right to Extend if I sell the flat?
The statutory right to extend (under the 1993 Act) belongs to the current qualifying tenant. If you have already served a Section 42 Notice, the benefit transfers automatically to a buyer on assignment. If you have not yet served a Notice, the buyer starts afresh with their own qualification period. An informal extension already completed passes to the buyer with the title.
How long does an informal lease extension take?
Typically three to six months from initial approach to registration at the Land Registry — faster than the statutory route's minimum 12-week timetable (before any Tribunal dispute). The main variables are how quickly the freeholder responds and how complex the lease deed negotiations are.
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