Section 42 Notice Guide

What is a Section 42 notice?

A Section 42 notice is the formal legal document that starts the statutory lease extension process. It is named after Section 42 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, which gives qualifying leaseholders the right to extend their lease by 90 years on top of the remaining term, at a peppercorn (zero) ground rent.

This is not a request. Once you serve a valid Section 42 notice, your freeholder is legally obliged to grant the extension, provided you meet the qualifying criteria and pay the appropriate premium. The only negotiation is over the price - not whether the extension happens.

The Section 42 route is the formal, statutory method. There is also the option of negotiating a voluntary (informal) extension directly with your freeholder, but the statutory route gives you considerably more legal protection. For most flat owners, it is the better option.

Who can serve a Section 42 notice?

To qualify, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• You hold a long lease - the original lease term must have been more than 21 years. Almost all residential leases in London meet this requirement, as they are typically granted for 99, 125, or 999 years.
• There is no minimum ownership period - since 31 January 2025, the previous requirement to have owned the flat for two years has been removed. You can now serve a Section 42 notice at any time after purchasing your flat.
• The lease is of a flat, not a house - the right under Section 42 applies to flats (defined as part of a building). If you own a leasehold house, different rules apply under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.

There are a few exclusions. You cannot serve a Section 42 notice if your flat is within a cathedral precinct, if it is held on a business lease, or if the Crown is your landlord (although Crown application is rare in practice). Shared ownership leaseholders should also take specialist advice, as additional conditions may apply.

The two-year ownership requirement was removed on 31 January 2025 under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. You can now serve notice immediately after purchasing your flat.

What the notice must contain

A Section 42 notice is a formal legal document with strict requirements. Under Section 42(3) of the 1993 Act, the notice must include:

• Your full name and the address of the flat
• Details of your lease (the date it was granted, the original term, and the parties to it)
• The premium you are proposing to pay for the extension
• A description of the property (which should match the lease description)
• The terms of the new lease you are seeking
• A date by which the freeholder must respond with a counter-notice (this must be at least two months after the notice is served)

The notice must be served on the "competent landlord." In most cases, this is the freeholder, but if there is an intermediate landlord (a head leaseholder between you and the freeholder), the position can be more complex. Your solicitor will need to establish the correct recipient through Land Registry searches.

Getting the notice wrong can be costly. A defective notice - one with errors in the property description, the wrong landlord named, or procedural mistakes - can be deemed invalid. If that happens, you have wasted your professional fees and may have to start again. This is why using a solicitor with specific experience in leasehold enfranchisement is not optional. It is essential.

The process step by step

Here is what the Section 42 process looks like from start to finish, with realistic timelines and costs for London:

1. Instruct a specialist surveyor (week 1-2) - You need a surveyor experienced in lease extension valuations to assess the premium. They will inspect the property, review the lease terms and ground rent, and prepare a valuation report. The proposed premium in your Section 42 notice is based on their assessment. Typical cost: £500-£1,500 depending on the property's value and complexity.
2. Instruct a specialist solicitor (week 1-2) - Your solicitor drafts the Section 42 notice, carries out Land Registry searches to identify the competent landlord, and serves the notice. Choose a firm with a track record in leasehold enfranchisement - this is specialist work, and a general high-street solicitor may not have the expertise. Budget £1,500-£3,000 for your own legal fees over the course of the process.
3. Serve the Section 42 notice (week 3-4) - Your solicitor serves the notice on the competent landlord. The date of service is important because it starts the statutory clock running. The notice will include the premium you are offering, which is typically set at the lower end of the reasonable range on your surveyor's advice. This is a starting point for negotiation, not your final figure.
4. Wait for the counter-notice (month 2-4) - The freeholder has two months from the date of service to respond with a counter-notice under Section 45. In this counter-notice, the freeholder will either accept your proposed premium (rare), propose a higher premium (almost always), or, in some cases, assert that they intend to redevelop the property (which can defeat the claim, although this is uncommon). If the freeholder does not serve a counter-notice within the two-month window, they are deemed to have accepted your terms.
5. Negotiate the premium (month 4-8) - Your surveyor and the freeholder's surveyor negotiate. The gap between the two opening positions can be significant - it is not unusual to see the leaseholder's surveyor propose £25,000 and the freeholder's surveyor counter at £45,000. Most cases settle somewhere in the middle through negotiation. This stage takes time because both sides need to exchange evidence and respond to each other's arguments.
6. Apply to the tribunal if needed (month 8-14) - If negotiation stalls, either side can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the premium. You must apply within six months of the counter-notice. Tribunal hearings add time and cost (hearing fees start at around £100-£500, but your surveyor and solicitor will charge for preparation and attendance). However, the tribunal option provides a useful backstop and can motivate reluctant freeholders to settle.
7. Pay the freeholder's reasonable costs - Under Section 60 of the 1993 Act, you are required to pay the freeholder's reasonable legal and valuation costs. This typically adds £1,500-£3,000. "Reasonable" is the key word - if you believe the freeholder's costs are excessive, you can challenge them at the tribunal.
8. Complete the new lease (month 8-12) - Once the premium is agreed (or determined by the tribunal), your solicitor and the freeholder's solicitor draw up the new lease. You pay the premium, and the new lease is registered at HM Land Registry. Your lease is now extended by 90 years at a peppercorn ground rent.

How much does the whole process cost?

The total cost of a Section 42 lease extension breaks down into three parts:

• The premium - this is the payment to the freeholder and is by far the largest cost. It depends on the remaining lease length, the flat's value, and the ground rent. For a London flat worth £350,000 with a long lease and 70 years remaining, expect a premium of roughly £25,000-£45,000. If the lease is below 80 years, marriage value adds substantially to this figure.
• Your professional fees - solicitor (£1,500-£3,000) and surveyor (£500-£1,500). Total: £2,000-£4,500.
• The freeholder's reasonable costs - typically £1,500-£3,000 for their solicitor and surveyor.

So for a flat with 70 years remaining and a long-lease value of £350,000, the total cost of extending might be £29,000-£52,500 when you add everything together. If the lease is at 60 years, that figure could be £40,000-£70,000 or more.

These are significant sums. You can use our lease extension calculator to get a rough estimate based on your specific situation.

How long does it take?

A straightforward Section 42 extension - where the parties negotiate sensibly and agree a premium without going to tribunal - typically completes in 6-9 months from the date the notice is served.

If the case goes to the First-tier Tribunal, add another 3-6 months. Tribunal waiting times vary depending on the regional caseload, but 2-4 months between application and hearing is common.

In some cases, particularly where the freeholder is unresponsive or where there are complexities (multiple intermediate landlords, missing freeholders, disputes over the property description), the process can take 12-18 months or longer.

The "valuation date" and why it matters

One important technical point: the valuation date for the premium calculation is the date you serve the Section 42 notice. This means the premium is based on the flat's value and the lease length on that specific date, even if it takes months to agree the final figure.

This is actually advantageous. If property values rise during the negotiation period, you benefit because your premium was fixed at the earlier (lower) valuation date. Conversely, if values fall, the freeholder benefits.

It also means that every day you delay serving the notice, the valuation date moves forward, the lease is shorter, and the premium is likely higher. There is a direct financial incentive to serve sooner rather than later.

What happens if you want to sell during the process?

If you serve a Section 42 notice and then decide to sell your flat before the extension completes, you can assign the benefit of the notice to the buyer under Section 43 of the 1993 Act. The buyer steps into your shoes and continues the process.

This can actually be a selling point. A flat with a pending Section 42 notice is more attractive to buyers than one without, because the buyer inherits the right to extend at the premium fixed at your valuation date. Some sellers deliberately serve a Section 42 notice before listing their flat for sale, knowing it will make the property easier to sell and potentially achieve a higher price.

However, there is a catch. You can only assign the benefit of the notice in connection with a sale of the flat. You cannot assign it to a random third party. And if you withdraw the notice before selling, you lose the benefit and remain liable for the freeholder's costs incurred up to that point.

Important risks and pitfalls

• You are committed to costs once you serve - once the Section 42 notice is served, you are liable for the freeholder's reasonable legal and valuation costs, even if you later withdraw. Withdrawing does not get you off the hook for their fees.
• The notice must be accurate - errors in the property description, the lease details, or the landlord's identity can invalidate the notice. An invalid notice means wasted costs and starting again.
• Missing the six-month tribunal deadline - if you cannot agree a premium, you have six months from the date of the counter-notice to apply to the tribunal. Miss this deadline, and the notice lapses. You can serve a new one, but you cannot serve another notice for 12 months, and your new valuation date will be later (meaning a higher premium).
• The freeholder's right to redevelop - under Section 47, if the freeholder intends to redevelop the building and your lease has less than five years remaining, they can defeat your claim. This is uncommon, but worth being aware of.
• Absent or missing freeholders - if you cannot identify or locate your freeholder, you can apply to the county court under Section 50 for a vesting order. This adds time and cost but does not prevent you from extending.

Statutory vs voluntary extension - which is better?

Some freeholders will offer to extend your lease outside the formal Section 42 process. This is known as a voluntary or informal extension. It can be quicker, but it comes with significant drawbacks:

• The freeholder can set whatever terms they like - there is no statutory formula
• The freeholder may insist on a market ground rent rather than a peppercorn
• You have less protection if the terms are unfavourable
• You may not get a full 90-year extension

In our experience, the statutory route is usually the better option. It costs more in professional fees, but you get the protection of the 1993 Act, a guaranteed 90-year extension, and a peppercorn ground rent. The only situations where a voluntary extension might make sense are where the freeholder is offering genuinely favourable terms and you have taken independent professional advice to confirm this.

When selling is simpler than extending

The Section 42 process works. Thousands of flat owners use it every year, and it delivers real results. But it requires time (6-12 months minimum), money (often £30,000 or more in total), and a tolerance for dealing with surveyors, solicitors, and potentially a tribunal hearing.

If you need to move quickly, cannot afford the upfront costs, or simply do not want the stress, selling to a specialist buyer is a legitimate alternative. We buy short-lease flats for cash across London, typically completing in 2-4 weeks. We handle the lease extension ourselves after purchase, so you do not have to go through the Section 42 process at all.

For a no-obligation conversation about your options, get in touch or request a free valuation. You can also read our lease extension advice for more on the broader process.

For the official process overview, see Gov.uk's leasehold guidance.