Lease Plans 2026: Best Guide to Land Registry Rules

Lease plans are scaled drawings that show exactly which part of a building or site a lease covers. If you are selling a flat, granting a new lease on a shop, or registering a long lease, HM Land Registry will expect lease plans that meet its rules. A plan that is vague, drawn to the wrong scale or marked for identification only can be rejected, and that can hold up a sale or a letting for weeks.

This guide explains what a compliant plan must show, the current HM Land Registry requirements, the most common reasons plans are rejected, how they are drawn and what they typically cost in 2026. It is written for leaseholders, landlords, freeholders, solicitors and managing agents across Liverpool, Merseyside and the North West.

In this guide:

• What they are and why they matter
• When you need a Land Registry plan
• HM Land Registry rules
• Common reasons for rejection
• Flats and maisonettes
• Commercial property
• How the plans are drawn
• Costs in 2026
• FAQs

What Are Lease Plans?

Lease plans are drawings attached to a lease that identify the demise, which is the part of the property the tenant or leaseholder is taking. For a flat, that usually means the flat itself on the correct floor, plus anything that comes with it, such as a parking space, a bin store or a garden. For a commercial unit, it means the exact shop, office suite or warehouse bay being let.

A good plan does two jobs. It lets HM Land Registry place the property accurately on the Ordnance Survey map, so the lease can be registered against the right part of the landlord title. It also avoids future arguments between landlord and leaseholder about who owns and repairs which areas, such as a loft, a basement or a shared landing.

They are not the same as estate agent floor plans. Marketing plans are usually not to scale, carry disclaimers and leave out the surrounding detail that HM Land Registry needs, so they are a common cause of rejection.

When You Need a Land Registry Plan for a Lease

You need lease plans whenever a lease must be registered and it covers only part of a building or site. HM Land Registry Practice Guide 25 explains that a lease of registered land granted for a term of more than seven years must be registered. Common situations include:

• selling a flat or maisonette for the first time on a long lease
• granting a new long lease on a flat created by converting a house
• letting a shop, office or industrial unit on a lease of more than seven years
• adding land to an existing lease, such as a loft, a parking space or a garden, by deed of variation
• a solicitor finding that the original plan is missing, unclear or does not match the property

If the existing lease already identifies the property clearly enough for HM Land Registry, a new plan may not be needed. Your solicitor will confirm this before you order one. Source: HM Land Registry Practice Guide 25.

HM Land Registry Rules for Lease Plans

The official guidance is Practice Guide 40, supplement 2, Guidance for preparing plans for HM Land Registry applications. It was last updated on 13 October 2025 and covers transfers and leases of part. These are the points that matter most. Source: HM Land Registry Practice Guide 40 supplement 2.

Scale

The plan must be drawn accurately to a stated scale using metric units. The preferred scales are 1:1250 or 1:500 for urban property and 1:2500 for rural land. A larger scale such as 1:200 is suggested where internal divisions are intricate, which is common for flats. A bar scale should be shown, and any measurements should be in metres to two decimal places.

Orientation and location

The plan should show orientation, usually with a north point. It must also show enough surrounding detail, such as roads, junctions and neighbouring buildings, for HM Land Registry to locate the property on the Ordnance Survey map and against the landlord title plan.

Colours and edging

The land in the lease must be shown clearly by colouring, edging, hatching or stippling. HM Land Registry does not insist on red, even though red edging is the usual convention. What matters is that every colour mentioned in the lease appears on the plan, and that the edging is not so thick that it hides the boundary it is meant to show.

Floor levels

Where a lease covers part of a building, the plan must show the extent of the property at each floor level, using separate plans if necessary, and identify which floor each plan shows. Garages, parking spaces and bin stores included in the lease should be marked clearly.

Wording and signatures

Plans should ideally avoid the words for identification only. That wording is listed as a cause of rejection unless the plan can still be related accurately to the Ordnance Survey map and does not conflict with the lease. Every plan, including any plan showing rights of way or retained land, must be signed by the landlord.

Why Lease Plans Get Rejected

HM Land Registry lists the defects that most often lead to a plan being rejected or queried. Checking your lease plans against this list before completion saves time and requisitions later:

• the lease refers to a plan that is not attached
• the plan is not signed by the landlord
• the scale is missing or uncertain, or a reduced copy still shows the original scale with no bar scale
• the plan says for identification only and cannot be related to the Ordnance Survey map
• a colour mentioned in the lease does not appear on the plan
• rights of way or other easements are unclear
• the property cannot be located or oriented against the Ordnance Survey map
• the plan is not drawn to scale, or the edging is so thick that the extent is unclear
• a hand drawn sketch has been used

Another common problem is the PDF itself. HM Land Registry asks for scanned plans to be at their original size, in full colour, at 200 to 600 dpi, on pages no larger than A3. If a PDF is printed with the fit to page option switched on, the scale changes and the plan no longer matches the stated scale.

Lease Plans for Flats and Maisonettes

Flats cause more queries than any other property type, because the property sits within a larger building and over one or more floors. Good lease plans for flats usually include:

• a location plan at 1:1250 showing the whole building and surrounding streets
• a floor plan at 1:100 or 1:200 for each level the flat occupies, with the demise edged
• any parking space, garden, bin store or storage cupboard included in the lease, edged or hatched in a colour named in the lease
• common parts such as stairs and landings shown in a different colour if the lease grants rights over them
• clear labels for each floor, such as ground floor, first floor and second floor

This matters in Liverpool, where many flats are in converted Georgian and Victorian townhouses around Canning, Rodney Street and the Georgian Quarter, or in former warehouses and offices in the city centre and the Baltic Triangle. Conversions often have split levels, basement storage and lofts that were never measured properly, so plans copied from old drawings are frequently wrong. If you manage a block, our guide to floor plans in block management explains why accurate plans help with service charges and repairs.

Lease Plans for Commercial Property

Commercial lease plans follow the same HM Land Registry rules, but the risks are different. The plan defines exactly which floor area the tenant is renting, and the floor area often drives the rent and the service charge. A plan that includes a shared corridor or excludes a mezzanine can change what the tenant pays for years.

For commercial units, the plan and the floor area should come from the same measured survey. Floor areas in the UK are normally measured under the RICS Code of Measuring Practice, 6th edition, used alongside the International Property Measurement Standards. Source: RICS Code of Measuring Practice. If you are also assessing the condition of the building before you sign, see our commercial property survey guide.

How Lease Plans Are Drawn

There are two ways to produce these plans, and the right one depends on how complex the property is.

Desktop lease plans

A desktop plan is drawn from existing drawings, Ordnance Survey data and photographs supplied by the client, without a site visit. It can work for a simple ground floor shop or a flat where accurate, recent drawings already exist. The risk is that any error in the source drawing is copied straight into the lease.

Measured survey lease plans

A measured plan is drawn after a surveyor visits and measures the property with a laser. It is the safer choice for conversions, older buildings, flats over several floors and commercial units where floor area matters. The process usually runs like this:

1. Instruction: you or your solicitor confirm the property, the floors included and any parking, gardens or stores.
2. Site visit: the surveyor measures each room and floor, and records the position of the building relative to the street.
3. Drawing: the plan is drawn in CAD and placed on the Ordnance Survey base map at the correct scale.
4. Checking: scale, north point, colours, floor labels and wording are checked against the Land Registry guidance.
5. Delivery: you receive a PDF ready for the lease, and usually a CAD file for your records.

Because a measured building survey records the whole layout, the same visit can also produce floor areas, room plans and drawings for future works. Our guide to measured building surveys explains the full range of outputs.

How Much Do Lease Plans Cost?

Lease plan fees depend on whether a site visit is needed, the size of the property and how many floors and extra areas the plan must show. These are prices published by UK lease plan providers, viewed on 16 October 2026:

In short, desktop plans start at around £110 to £125, while measured lease plans usually cost £195 to £550 depending on size and complexity. A plan that is rejected and has to be redrawn costs far more in delay, so the cheapest option is not always the best value.

One tip if you are researching online: searches for lease plan cost often return car leasing deals, because LeasePlan is also the name of a vehicle leasing company. Adding Land Registry to your search gives more useful results.

Lease Plans for Lease Extensions and Deeds of Variation

A statutory lease extension on the same flat does not automatically need new lease plans. HM Land Registry Practice Guide 28 on lease extensions sets no extra plan requirement, so where the flat is unchanged and the original plan is adequate, a new one may not be needed.

A new plan is more likely to be needed when:

• the original plan is missing, inaccurate or would be rejected under current rules
• a loft, roof space, garden or parking space is being added to the lease
• the layout of the building has changed since the lease was granted
• the flat is being extended into common parts

Adding land to a lease by deed of variation is treated as a surrender and regrant of the whole property, so the new plan must show the complete demise, not just the extra area. Your solicitor will advise which applies to you.

What to Send Your Surveyor

The more information the surveyor has at the start, the quicker the job and the more accurate the quote. When you instruct, it helps to send:

• the full address and postcode, and the title number of the freehold if you have it
• a copy of the freehold title plan from HM Land Registry
• the draft lease or heads of terms, so the plan matches the wording
• a list of everything included, such as floors, parking spaces, gardens, stores and roof space
• any existing drawings, even if you think they are out of date
• contact details for access, including keys and any occupants who need notice
• your completion or exchange deadline

If you are unsure what the lease will include, ask your solicitor to confirm before the site visit. Measuring an extra parking space or store on the day costs far less than a return visit later.

Checklist Before You Send Lease Plans to Your Solicitor

Run through this checklist before the plans go into the lease:

1. The plan has a stated scale and a bar scale.
2. A north point is shown.
3. The building can be located against nearby roads and landmarks.
4. Every floor in the lease has its own clearly labelled plan.
5. Every colour named in the lease appears on the plan.
6. Edging is thin enough to show the boundary clearly.
7. The words for identification only do not appear.
8. Parking spaces, gardens and stores in the lease are marked.
9. The PDF is at original size and in colour, not scaled to fit a page.
10. The landlord will sign every plan.

Lease Plans FAQs

Get Lease Plans in Liverpool and Merseyside

ASG Consulting is regulated by RICS and produces laser measured lease plans and floor plans for flats, houses and commercial units across Liverpool, Merseyside and the North West. Every plan is drawn to scale from a site survey and checked against the current HM Land Registry guidance before it is sent to you. To book a survey, visit our measured building survey page.

About the Author

Harry is a property content writer with 3 years of experience writing about building surveying, commercial property and property compliance in the UK. He writes the guides at ASG Consulting for buyers, tenants and landlords, turning survey practice into clear, practical advice.