Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, Part II

What does a business lease renewal cost?

Almost everything about the fee follows from two questions. Is the tenancy protected by Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, or was it contracted out before it was granted? And are the rent and the terms agreed, or contested? An unopposed renewal on agreed terms is a documented negotiation. An opposed renewal is litigation, with a surveyor's rent valuation as a separate professional fee on top. Tell us where your renewal stands and commercial property solicitors will quote you.

The tenancy

Are you the landlord or the tenant?

Tenant Landlord Acting for one of them

What is the property used for?

Was the tenancy contracted out of the 1954 Act?

Contracting out requires a warning notice and a declaration before the tenancy is granted. If you are not sure, say so: checking the lease is part of the work.

No charge to you for the introduction
Your details go only to the firms that quote
Takes about two minutes

What drives the cost of a 1954 Act lease renewal

Last updated 2026-08-14

Renewal fees are not a single number because a renewal is not a single piece of work. It is a sequence of stages, and most renewals stop part way through the sequence. This table sets out the stages, how each is normally charged, and what makes it expensive. It is a cost driver breakdown rather than a price list: firms set their own fees and the same renewal can cost very different sums depending on how far it runs.

A stage by stage breakdown of what a business lease renewal involves, how each stage is normally charged, and what moves the fee. It is deliberately not a price list: no body sets solicitors' or surveyors' fees for renewal work, and the range of outcomes between an agreed renewal and a contested trial is too wide for a single figure to be honest. The statutory framework described is Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 as shown on legislation.gov.uk, checked on 14 August 2026, including the notice periods in sections 25 and 26, the grounds of opposition in section 30, the time limits in section 29A, and the contracting out procedure in section 38A and the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003. Obtain written quotes for your own renewal through the form above.

What drives the cost of a 1954 Act lease renewal
Stage	What happens	How it is normally charged	What moves the fee
Establishing the position	Reading the lease and any deeds to establish whether the tenancy is protected by Part II of the 1954 Act or was contracted out before it was granted, and identifying the competent landlord	A modest fixed fee or a short piece of hourly work, sometimes absorbed into the wider instruction	Poor documentation, missing deeds of variation, underleases, and any doubt about whether the contracting out procedure was validly followed
Serving or responding to a notice	A landlord's notice under section 25, or a tenant's request for a new tenancy under section 26. Both must be in the prescribed form, and a section 25 notice must state whether the landlord opposes a new tenancy	Usually a fixed fee for drafting and serving, with advice on timing charged alongside	Multiple properties, tight deadlines, and the strategic question of who serves first. Section 25(2) requires not more than twelve nor less than six months' notice before the date of termination specified
Negotiating the terms	Agreeing the length of the new term, the rent, and any changes to the other terms of the lease	Hourly, or a fixed fee per stage where the firm will give one	How far apart the parties are, tenant improvements and their treatment, break clauses, service charge and repair provisions, and how quickly the other side responds
Rent valuation	A chartered surveyor advises on the open market rent for the new tenancy and negotiates it with the other side's surveyor	A separate professional fee, from a different profession, not part of the solicitor's quote	Scarcity of comparable evidence, unusual property, disputed tenant improvements, and whether the surveyor is later required to give expert evidence
Protective proceedings and extensions	Issuing or responding to a court application within the statutory period, or agreeing an extension of time. Section 29A sets the time limit and section 29B allows agreed extensions	Court fees plus legal fees for issue and service, then further work if the claim is defended	Whether the parties can agree extensions or whether protective proceedings must actually be issued, and whether the claim then has to be actively pursued
Opposed renewal	The landlord opposes on one or more of the grounds in section 30(1), for example redevelopment or own occupation, and the issue is tried	Litigation rates, with counsel and expert evidence as additional costs, and a real risk of paying the other side's costs	Which ground is relied on, how contested the evidence is, and whether compensation for the tenant is in issue. This is the single largest step change in cost in the whole process
PACT	Professional Arbitration on Court Terms, under which the parties refer the terms or the rent to a surveyor or solicitor acting as arbitrator or independent expert instead of the court	The arbitrator or expert charges for their own time, which the parties fund, alongside each side's advisers	Whether both parties agree to it, how narrow the referred issue is, and whether the appointee is deciding rent alone or the whole package of terms

A business tenancy within Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 has security of tenure and a statutory renewal procedure, unless the tenancy was contracted out of sections 24 to 28 before it was granted under the procedure in section 38A and the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003.
A landlord's section 25 notice must be given not more than twelve nor less than six months before the date of termination it specifies, and must state whether the landlord opposes the grant of a new tenancy; a tenant's section 26 request must specify a start date not more than twelve nor less than six months after the request is made.
A landlord may oppose the grant of a new tenancy only on the grounds set out in section 30(1) of the 1954 Act, and only on grounds stated in the section 25 notice or the section 26(6) counter notice.
The cost of a renewal is driven less by the property than by how far the matter runs: an unopposed renewal settled on agreed terms, a renewal that needs protective proceedings, and an opposed renewal tried on a section 30 ground are three different orders of expense.

Cite this page

“What drives the cost of a 1954 Act lease renewal”, Lease Renewal Cost, https://leaserenewalcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). A stage by stage breakdown of what a business lease renewal involves, how each stage is normally charged, and what moves the fee. It is deliberately not a price list: no body sets solicitors' or surveyors' fees for renewal work, and the range of outcomes between an agreed renewal and a contested trial is too wide for a single figure to be honest. The statutory framework described is Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 as shown on legislation.gov.uk, checked on 14 August 2026, including the notice periods in sections 25 and 26, the grounds of opposition in section 30, the time limits in section 29A, and the contracting out procedure in section 38A and the Regulatory Reform (Business Tenancies) (England and Wales) Order 2003. Obtain written quotes for your own renewal through the form above.

How it works

Set out the tenancy: whether it is protected, what has been served, and whether the renewal is opposed. Two minutes, no account.
We pass your details to commercial property solicitors acting on 1954 Act renewals in your area, and to no one else.
They contact you directly with their fee basis for the stage you are at. Compare, instruct, or decline.

Lease Renewal Cost is an independent site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We are not a firm of solicitors or surveyors and we are not affiliated with any firm, court, tribunal or government body named here. We pass the details you submit to relevant commercial property solicitors, who contact you directly; we may receive a fee from those firms, and you pay nothing for the introduction. Nothing on this site is legal advice or a valuation, and no figure here is a quotation. The statutory position described is Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 as shown on legislation.gov.uk on 14 August 2026; take advice on your own tenancy before serving or responding to any notice.

Questions, answered directly

How much does a commercial lease renewal cost?

There is no standard figure: no body sets solicitors' or surveyors' fees for renewal work. The cost is driven by how far the matter runs. An unopposed renewal settled on agreed terms, a renewal that needs protective proceedings issued, and an opposed renewal tried on a section 30 ground are three different orders of expense, and a surveyor's rent valuation is a separate professional fee in all of them.

What is a section 25 notice?

It is the landlord's notice terminating a business tenancy protected by Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Section 25(2) requires it to be given not more than twelve nor less than six months before the date of termination it specifies, and section 25(6) requires it to state whether the landlord opposes the grant of a new tenancy. If the landlord opposes, section 25(7) requires the notice to specify the section 30(1) grounds relied on.

What is the difference between a section 25 notice and a section 26 request?

A section 25 notice is served by the landlord to bring the tenancy to an end and start the renewal process. A section 26 request is made by the tenant asking for a new tenancy, specifying a start date not more than twelve nor less than six months ahead and setting out the tenant's proposals. Section 26(4) prevents a request once a section 25 notice has been given, and prevents a section 25 notice once a request has been made.

What does it mean if my lease is contracted out?

It means the parties agreed under section 38A of the 1954 Act, before the tenancy was granted, to exclude sections 24 to 28. Those are the provisions that continue the tenancy and give the right to a new one, so a contracted out tenancy ends at the end of its term with no statutory renewal. The agreement is void unless the warning notice and declaration procedure in the 2003 Order was followed, so it is worth verifying rather than assuming.

Can a landlord refuse to renew a business lease?

Only on one of the grounds in section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, and only if that ground was stated in the section 25 notice or the section 26(6) counter notice. The grounds cover disrepair, persistent late payment of rent, other substantial breaches, suitable alternative accommodation, sub-letting of part, redevelopment, and the landlord's own occupation.

What is PACT in a lease renewal?

Professional Arbitration on Court Terms: a route by which the parties agree to refer the rent, or the terms of the new tenancy, to a surveyor or solicitor acting as arbitrator or independent expert rather than having the court determine it. The appointee charges for their time, which the parties fund, alongside each side's own advisers.

Is this introduction service free to use?

Yes, free to you and with no obligation to instruct anyone. We pass your details only to commercial property solicitors who act on renewals of the kind you describe, and they contact you directly. We may receive a fee from those firms, which is how the service is funded.

Related guides

Sourced, dated, kept current.

Sources

Get lease renewal quotes