Serving a Section 42 notice to extend your flat lease: the formal process, key deadlines, required content, and what happens if talks fail.
A Section 42 notice is the formal legal document you serve on your freeholder to initiate the statutory lease extension process for a flat. Named after Section 42 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, it is the official starting gun of the entire enfranchisement procedure.
Once served correctly, the Section 42 notice fixes the valuation date. The premium is calculated based on property values and lease length at the date of service — not at the later completion date. If your property rises in value during negotiations, you still pay based on the earlier, lower value. Serving the notice early is almost always the right strategy.
Serving a Section 42 notice early locks in your premium calculation date and protects you from property price inflation during the 6–12 month negotiation period.
An incorrectly drafted or served notice can be invalid. Always instruct a specialist solicitor to draft and serve it. You no longer need to have owned the lease for two years before serving (abolished 31 January 2025). Once the notice is served you become liable for the freeholder’s reasonable valuation and legal costs (s.60), even if you later withdraw.
Months 1–2: Instruct solicitor and RICS surveyor. Surveyor values property and advises on the opening premium.
Month 2: Section 42 notice drafted and served on freeholder.
Months 2–4: Freeholder must serve counter-notice within 2 months.
Months 4–9: Surveyors negotiate the premium. Most cases settle here.
Months 9–12: Legal completion and Land Registry registration.
If no agreement: Apply to First-tier Tribunal — add 12–18 months.
Either party may apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) for a determination, but only between two and six months after the counter-notice. Miss the six-month deadline and the notice is treated as withdrawn, and you generally cannot serve a new one for 12 months. The Tribunal hears evidence from both surveyors and issues a binding decision. This adds 12–18 months and significant cost, but is sometimes necessary when freeholders are unreasonable.
A Section 42 notice is the formal legal document that starts a statutory lease extension under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. Named after Section 42 of the Act, it is served by the leaseholder (or their solicitor) on the freeholder and specifies the proposed premium and new lease terms. Once validly served, it locks in certain rights and deadlines — including fixing the valuation date for the premium calculation.
The date of the Section 42 notice fixes the valuation date — the date at which the property value and lease length are assessed for the premium calculation. This means the premium is calculated based on the lease length on the notice date, not the completion date. Serving early (e.g. when the lease has 82 years) and completing later (80 years) means the premium is calculated at 82 years — no marriage value applies.
The notice must specify: the full names and addresses of the tenant and their solicitor, the full address of the property, the proposed premium the tenant is willing to pay, the proposed new lease terms, and a response deadline of not less than two months for the freeholder to serve a counter-notice. Any defect in the notice can make it invalid — always use a specialist solicitor.
The freeholder has two months to serve a counter-notice admitting or disputing the tenant's right to extend and proposing their own premium. If they do not respond, you can apply to the court for an order on the terms in your notice, within six months of the date the counter-notice was due (s.49). If they respond with a higher premium, negotiation follows. If terms are not agreed, either party can apply to the First-tier Tribunal to determine them, no earlier than two months and no later than six months after the counter-notice (s.48); miss that deadline and the notice is treated as withdrawn.
Generic fill-in-the-blank templates exist online, but a Section 42 notice is a formal legal document, and any defect — a missing detail, wrong address format, an unrealistic proposed premium — can invalidate it and cost you months of delay. The required contents are listed above (names, addresses, proposed premium, proposed lease terms, response deadline), but in practice this is one of the few steps in the process worth having a specialist leasehold solicitor draft or check, rather than adapting a generic template yourself.
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This guide is researched from official and primary sources. Check them directly before relying on any figure or date.
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Calculate Now →This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Always consult a specialist solicitor and RICS surveyor before taking any action.
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