Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024

10 Permitted leases: transaction warning conditions

(1) A person may not, on or after the day on which section 1 comes into force—

(a) enter into an agreement to grant a permitted lease unless the transaction warning conditions are met in relation to the agreement, or

(b) subject to subsection (5), grant a permitted lease unless the transaction warning conditions are met in relation to the lease.

(2) The “transaction warning conditions” are as follows—

(a) at least 7 days before the relevant date the grantor must give a warning notice relating to the permitted lease—

(i) to the proposed tenant, or

(ii) where there is more than one proposed tenant, to each of them;

(b) a notice of receipt of the warning notice must be given to the grantor—

(i) by the proposed tenant, or

(ii) where there is more than one proposed tenant, jointly by all of the proposed tenants;

(c) a reference to the warning notice and the notice of receipt must be included in or endorsed on the relevant instrument in the specified manner.

(3) A “warning notice” is a notice provided in a specified form and manner and containing—

(a) sufficient information to identify the house to be comprised in the lease,

(b) if the lease falls within Part 1 of Schedule 1, a copy of the permitted lease certificate,

(c) if the lease falls into one or more of the categories set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1, a statement identifying that category or those categories,

(d) if both paragraphs (b) and (c) apply to the lease, the information required under both those paragraphs, and

(e) such other information as may be specified.

(4) A “notice of receipt” is a notice provided in a specified form and manner and containing such information as may be specified.

(5) A person does not breach subsection (1) in relation to the grant of a lease if—

(a) the person previously entered into an agreement to grant that lease,

(b) the transaction warning conditions were met in relation to that agreement, and

(c) a reference to the warning notice and the notice of receipt relating to that agreement is included in or endorsed on the instrument creating the lease.

(6) This section does not apply to the grant of a permitted lease which falls within paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 (leases agreed before commencement).

(7) This section does not affect—

(a) the validity of a lease granted in breach of subsection (1), and does not affect the powers of a person to grant such a lease (whether under section 23(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002 or otherwise);

(b) any contractual rights of a party to an agreement entered into in breach of subsection (1).

(8) In this section—

• “grantor”, in relation to a lease, means the person proposing to grant the lease (whether or not that person holds the freehold or leasehold title out of which the lease will be granted);

• “proposed tenant”, in relation to a lease, means the proposed tenant of the house to be comprised in the lease;

• “relevant date” means—

  (a)

  in the case of an agreement to grant a lease, the day on which the agreement is entered into, and

  (b)

  in the case of a grant of a lease, the day on which the lease is granted;

• “relevant instrument” means—

  (a)

  in the case of an agreement to grant a lease, that agreement, and

  (b)

  in the case of a grant of a lease, the instrument creating that lease;

• “specified” means specified or described in regulations made—

  (a)

  in relation to a lease of a house in England, by the Secretary of State;

  (b)

  in relation to a lease of a house in Wales, by the Welsh Ministers.

(9) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to the negative procedure.