A protected business tenancy does not simply end. It continues until a section 25 notice or a section 26 request starts the statutory clock, and from then on a court application has to be made, or the deadline extended in writing, before the date that notice sets. As your lease renewal solicitor we read the notice and the lease, give you that date in writing, and negotiate the commercial lease renewal with the other side.
Handled entirely in writing. No hearings, no meetings, no attendance required.
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Under the 1954 Act a protected tenancy continues after its contractual end until it is ended in one of the ways the Act allows. The two usual starting points are below.
Given not more than twelve nor less than six months before the termination date it names (section 25(2)). It must say whether the landlord opposes a new tenancy and, if so, on which statutory grounds (section 25(6) and (7)); if not, it must set out the landlord's proposals for the new lease (section 25(8)).
Asks for a new tenancy starting not more than twelve nor less than six months after the request (section 26(2)). The landlord has two months to say it will oppose, and on which grounds (section 26(6)).
Must be made before the date in the section 25 notice, or before the date in the section 26 request (section 29A), unless extended by written agreement made before that date passes (sections 29B and 69(2)).
Once either notice is given, landlord or tenant can apply for an interim rent payable while the tenancy continues (section 24A).
Received a notice already? Our guide, section 25 notice received, sets out the first steps. The section 25 notice assessment is £495, fixed.
Written advice within 24 hours of instruction. Trademarks filed within 48 hours of instruction. Documents in days, not weeks. Never "3 to 5 business days" just to hear back.
| Item | What it covers | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Section 25 notice assessment | Notice and lease read, 1954 Act and validity checked, termination date and court deadline identified, written view on your options. | £495 |
| New lease or renewal, settled to agreed form | Heads of terms to agreed final form: terms advised and negotiated with the other side, with an authorised solicitor instructed to prepare the deed and deal with Land Registry where the law requires. | from £1,450 |
| Variation or surrender, advised and negotiated | The commercial terms advised and negotiated to agreed form; the deed itself is prepared by an instructed authorised solicitor. | from £850 |
Your fixed fee is confirmed in writing once I have seen your document. Pay within 24 hours of that confirmation for the reduced fee.
Bespoke and urgent matters outside the schedule: £650 per hour, capped estimates given in advance. Corporate retainers from £995/month.
A lease validly contracted out under section 38A of the 1954 Act, with the warning notice and declaration done before the term began, has no right to renew. Everything else depends on that answer, so it comes first.
The court cannot entertain an application made after the end of the statutory period (section 29A). It moves only by agreement made before it passes (section 29B), and agreements under the Act mean agreements in writing (section 69(2)).
If the landlord does not oppose, the argument is about rent, length and terms. Without agreement the court sets an open market rent under section 34 and a term of up to fifteen years under section 33, which frames every offer.
Not every lease problem needs a new lease. A lease variation changes the existing terms, such as the rent, a break, the permitted use or the premises, and is normally recorded in a deed of variation; a surrender of lease ends it early by agreement.
An agreement to surrender a protected business tenancy is void unless the landlord's warning notice and the tenant's declaration are done first (Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, section 38A(2) and (4)). We advise on and negotiate variations and surrenders from £850; the deed itself is prepared by an instructed authorised solicitor.
Not more than twelve and not less than six months before the termination date it specifies, and for a fixed term that date cannot be earlier than the date the lease would have ended by effluxion of time (Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, section 25(2) and (4)).
No. A tenant's request cannot be made once the landlord has given a section 25 notice, and the landlord cannot give one after the tenant's request (section 26(4)). Whichever goes first sets the timetable.
The court cannot entertain an application made after the end of the statutory period (section 29A), unless the parties extended it by agreement made before it expired (section 29B). Agreements between landlord and tenant under the Act are read as agreements in writing (section 69(2)). Without that, the right to a new tenancy is lost.
Where the opposition rests only on grounds (e), (f) or (g) of section 30(1), such as redevelopment or the landlord's own occupation, section 37 gives the tenant compensation on quitting: the rateable value multiplied by the prescribed multiplier, doubled where the premises have been occupied for the business for the whole of the previous fourteen years.
Yes. Once a section 25 notice or a section 26 request has been given, either side can apply for an interim rent payable while the tenancy continues (section 24A).
Yes, in writing: send the lease and the rent review notice and the fee is quoted in writing once seen. A rent review sets the rent under the existing lease; renewal under the 1954 Act sets the terms of a new one.
No. Everything is handled in writing, by email or WhatsApp: you send the documents, the fee is confirmed in writing, and the work comes back in writing. Replies within the hour in business hours.
Send a brief outline of your matter. You will receive a personal reply from a solicitor, with a fixed-fee quote where the scope is clear. Payment is taken before work begins; every fee is fixed in writing first.
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