The document underneath the dispute

The lease is not one clause. It is a connected system.

A lease is the signed contract that gives a person the right to occupy a property for a defined term and sets the rights, responsibilities, costs and restrictions that apply.

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Original building trust visual for The lease is not one clause. It is a connected system.

Find the complete set

What is a lease?

Identity

Where can I find my lease?

Check the purchase file, conveyancer, lender, landlord or managing agent first. Then match the title, parties, date and term to the flat and interest.

Filed copy

How do I get a copy of my lease?

If you cannot find it, search HM Land Registry's title register. If the register says the lease is filed, request an official copy. The current online fees are £7 for the register and £11 per document, checked 18 August 2026.

Open HM Land Registry

Attachments

Check every schedule and plan

The In plain EnglishThe flat, space or other property granted by the lease. The exact definition in the signed document controls.Open the plain-English glossary, shared rights, service-charge machinery and building rules often sit at the back of the document or on a plan.

Later documents

Look for deeds and superior interests

A In plain EnglishA formal document that changes specified terms of an existing lease and must be read with it.Open the plain-English glossary, transfer, licence, In plain EnglishA lease that sits above another lease and below the freehold or another superior interest.Open the plain-English glossary or other filed document may change what the first lease appears to say.

The working anatomy

Six places the answer may be hiding.

Parties, date and term

Who granted what, to whom, for how long and from which start date.

Definitions

The document's own meaning for the premises, building, common parts, service costs and other repeated terms.

Demise and plan

The physical extent of the flat or other premises. Exact boundaries matter for repairs and alterations.

Covenants

Promises to pay, repair, insure, obtain consent, allow access or refrain from particular uses.

Rights and reservations

Rights given to the leaseholder and rights kept for the landlord or other occupiers.

Schedules

Detailed service-charge machinery, insurance obligations, regulations, rights and technical provisions.

Read for the real question

A five-pass reading is faster than guessing from one paragraph.

Pass 1

State the exact question

Who repairs this pipe is a better search question than what does my lease say about repairs.

Pass 2

Find the controlling words

Search the In plain EnglishA binding promise in the lease to do something, pay something or not do something.Open the plain-English glossary, right or charging power and open every defined term used inside it.

Pass 3

Follow every cross-reference

Read the referenced schedule, plan, proviso, exception and later document before forming a view.

Pass 4

Name the party and capacity

Landlord, freeholder, management company, RTM company, headlessee and leaseholder can have different jobs.

Pass 5

Add the current source separately

Check whether current law adds a test, process or protection. Keep that source visible beside the lease wording.

Sources for this page

Check the law and official guidance.

Official property recordGet a copy of the deeds

HM Land Registry explains how to identify a filed lease or deed and order an official copy. The online title register costs £7 and an official document copy currently costs £11. Fees can change, so use the live page.

Registration guideLeases: when to register

Current HM Land Registry practice guidance on registration of leases and the exceptions that can apply.

building trust methodThe evidence standard

Keep the executed document, current source, evidence, inference and uncertainty separate.

Prepared by Adam Street, founder of building trust. Links and current-law position checked 18 August 2026. Apply the governing documents, building facts and current law to the case in front of you.

Take the next step in LEASE-iQ

Check the documents behind the answer.

Use this when the issue is unclear or several clauses may interact.

Copy questions for this issue

Questions to paste into LEASE-iQ

I have uploaded the signed lease. My question is: [write the decision, payment, repair, consent or dispute in one sentence]. Before answering, identify the relevant lease clauses, current law and any facts or documents that are still missing.

Please:
1. Identify the document, parties, property, term, definitions, plans, schedules and any later document referred to.
2. Find every clause that may support or cut against the answer. Quote only the short relevant wording and give the clause and page.
3. Explain which party and interest each clause applies to. Do not infer a role from the filename or my description.
4. Separate what comes from the lease, what current law adds and what I have told you as fact.
5. Identify missing documents or facts that could reverse the result.
6. State the strongest reasonable alternative reading.
7. Finish with a verdict of supported, partly supported, ambiguous or not found, followed by the next evidence check and any focused question for a professional adviser.

Keep checking: A well-structured question makes uncertainty easier to see. It does not turn incomplete sources into certainty.