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Guidance

Leases: determination (PG26)

How leases are determined and how this affects registered titles (practice guide 26).

Updates to this page

From:
HM Land Registry
Published:
13 October 2003
Last updated:
14 September 2026
Show all updates

  1. Section 10.1 has been amended to take account of situations where the person receiving the break notice has waived the need to meet the conditions for using the break option.

  2. Sections 7.1 and 10.1 have been amended to remove the requirement to provide a copy of the termination notice where the termination is by effluxion of time.

  3. Sections 7 and 10 have been amended to cover where a lease being determined is protected by the Electronic Communications Code.

  4. The guide has been amended to reflect how applications should be made using our digital systems.

  5. Section 14 has been updated to include a reminder to apply against both the tenant’s and landlord’s (if registered) titles.

  6. Section 4 has been amended to clarify that a deed of surrender must be executed by the tenant.

  7. The guide has been amended to provide clearer guidance for customers to improve the lodgement of applications.

  8. Section 3 relating to determination on merger has been amended to clarify that an application must be made against all affected titles so that it is clear there is an intention to merge the estates.

  9. Section 13 has been added to give guidance on determination of leases for life.

  10. The guide has been amended to reflect how applications should be made using our digital systems.

  11. Section 5 has been amended to reflect that we no longer require confirmation that no deed of surrender has been entered into.

  12. Section 10 has been amended to clarify our requirements for determination by effluxion of time and determination by notice under section 25 or 27 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.

  13. Section 8 has been amended to include another existing reason a lease may be forfeited.

  14. Section 7.1 has been amended to give guidance where a lease is in respect of electronic communications apparatus.

  15. Note 3 to section 8 has been amended. The protection from forfeiture for non-payment of rent and recovery of rent for business tenancies in Wales has been extended to 25 March 2022 by the Business Tenancies (Extension of Protection from Forfeiture etc) (Wales) (Coronavirus) (No. 3) Regulations 2021, which came into force on 30 September 2021.

  16. Note 3 to section 8 has been amended. The protections from forfeiture for non-payment of rent and recovery of rent for business tenancies have been extended to 25 March 2022 in England by the Business Tenancies (Protection from Forfeiture: Relevant Period) (Coronavirus) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 and to 30 September 2021 in Wales by the Business Tenancies (Extension of Protection from Forfeiture etc) (Wales) (Coronavirus) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, both of which came into force on 30 June 2021.

  17. Note 3 to section 8 has been amended. The protections from forfeiture for non-payment of rent and recovery of rent for business tenancies have been extended to 30 June 2021 by the Business Tenancies (Protection from Forfeiture: Relevant Period) (Coronavirus) (England) Regulations 2021 and the Business Tenancies (Extension of Protection from Forfeiture etc) (Wales) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021, both of which come into force on 31 March 2021.

  18. Section 8.1 has been updated to reflect the fact that where forfeiture is based upon peaceable re-entry and the tenant is a company in administration, the consent of the administrator or the court is required.

  19. Note 3 to section 8 has been amended. The protections from forfeiture for non-payment of rent and recovery of rent for business tenancies have been extended to 31 March 2021 by the Business Tenancies (Protection from Forfeiture: Relevant Period) (Coronavirus) (England) (No 3) Regulations 2020 and the Business Tenancies (Extension of Protection from Forfeiture etc) (Wales) (Coronavirus) (No 3) Regulations 2020, both of which come into force on 31 December 2020.

  20. Note 3 to section 8 has been amended. The provisions protecting business tenants from enforcement of rights of re-entry or forfeiture have been extended in both England and Wales until 31 December 2020.

  21. Note 3 to section 8 has been amended following the extension of the provision in Section 82 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 which extends the provisions protecting business tenants from enforcement of rights of re-entry or forfeiture until 30 September 2020.

  22. Section 7.1 has been amended to confirm that a copy of the notice must be enclosed when the lease is determined by notice.

  23. Note 3 has been added to section 8 as a result of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

  24. Section 3 has been amended to confirm that an application for merger should be expressly applied for on the accompanying application form. If there is no express application but a deed suggests an intention to merge, we will only proceed with merger if all the conditions for merger are satisfied.

  25. Note 3 has been added to section 2.1.1.1 as a reminder that when the determining lease is a concurrent lease, the title number(s) of all concurrent leases need to be included in the AP1.

  26. Section 8.1 has been amended to clarify what must be sent to us when a lease has been determined by forfeiture based on a court order.

  27. Section 2.1 has been amended to reflect our current practice relating to the use of copy documents for some applications for first registration. Section 2.1.5, which dealt with submitting applications in accordance with a customer team arrangement or a particular office has been deleted as all applications should now be submitted to the address stated in HM Land Registry address for applications which is the address of HM Land Registry’s scanning centre. Sections 4.2, 5.2 and 13 have been updated and section 4.3 has been added to reflect the introduction of Land Transaction Tax for transactions affecting land in Wales completed on or after 1 April 2018.

  28. References to a leasehold valuation tribunal in section 8.1 have been changed to ‘the appropriate tribunal’ as there are now different tribunals in England and Wales.

  29. Section 2.1.2 has been amended to make clear when the applicant needs to provide evidence to remove a form A restriction on surrender of a lease.

  30. Section 12.1 has been amended to explain that a separate application may be needed to register any registrable disposition where enlargement of a lease is not possible.

  31. Link to the advice we offer added.

  32. Welsh version added.

  33. Section 2.1.1 has been amended to clarify our practice when an application to determine a registered lease does not include reference to a registered reversionary title.

  34. First published.

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Practice guide 26: leases – determination

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Details

This guide gives you information about the different situations in which leases are determined and how the determination affects registered titles. It gives advice on how to lodge your application with HM Land Registry and sets out the documentation required in support of your application.

The guide is aimed at conveyancers and you should interpret references to ‘you’ accordingly.

We only provide factual information and impartial advice about our procedures. Read more about the advice we give.

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