Asking your freeholder for consent to let: the fee, and what to do if they refuse or go silent

In England and Wales, consent to let a leasehold flat is governed mainly by the lease, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1988. Scotland is different because qualifying ultra-long residential leases converted to ownership, while Northern Ireland has an older express-written-consent regime and should not be treated as having England-and-Wales refusal or silence remedies.

How do you formally ask a freeholder for consent to let?

You formally ask a freeholder for consent to let by making a dated written application to the person entitled to give consent, enclosing the underletting information your lease or managing agent reasonably requires; a solicitor is not legally required just because you are remortgaging onto a buy-to-let deal. The statutory duty is triggered where “there is served on the person who may consent to a proposed transaction a written application by the tenant for consent to the transaction,” so a letter or email can be enough if it clearly identifies the flat, the proposed underletting, the proposed tenancy terms, your contact details and any required fee. LEASE’s practical advice is blunt: “Put your request in writing, date it and keep copies of all letters.” Some freeholders use an online consents form, and using it avoids an argument about whether the request reached the right consent team. In Northern Ireland, where the lease bars subletting, consent must be express written consent in the statutory form; in Scotland, this freeholder-consent-to-let regime does not exist for converted qualifying long leases.

What can a freeholder ask for before granting consent to sublet?

A freeholder can ask for information reasonably needed to decide whether the proposed sublet complies with the lease, but cannot use a sublet application as a general opportunity to extract unrelated concessions. The Upper Tribunal’s underletting authority says that when a landlord receives a request for consent to underlet, it is “entitled to satisfy itself that the terms of the proposed underletting are in accordance with the terms of the lease and to issue a written permission.” That usually makes the draft or signed tenancy agreement, occupier details, term, rent, use of the flat and compliance with any lease wording relevant. It does not make every landlord demand reasonable: in Proxima, the tribunal distinguished assignment from subletting and said “a landlord is in no different position in relation to arrears of rent or service charges if the demised premises are sublet than if they are not.” Bank-reference cases about assignment should not be treated as underletting authority, because assignment changes the tenant; subletting does not.

What can a freeholder charge for consent to let?

A freeholder can charge only a reasonable sum for legal or other expenses connected with consent to let; there is no statutory tariff and no rule that an ex-council freeholder can charge whatever administration fee it likes. Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 preserves “the right of the landlord to require payment of a reasonable sum in respect of any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with such licence or consent,” and Schedule 11 to the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 adds that “a variable administration charge is payable only to the extent that the amount of the charge is reasonable.” Tribunal figures show why a single going rate is misleading: £40 plus VAT, £95 including VAT, £165, and £500 including VAT and registration have each been treated differently on their facts. Council freeholders also vary: Haringey publishes a £75 single registration fee, while Hackney says “We currently charge £30 for registering a sublet.” A demand for an administration charge must also be accompanied by the statutory summary of rights and obligations. Landlords who keep records for tax purposes can log this consent fee as a property expense in software such as Abodient, alongside the freeholder's invoice, rather than letting a one-off charge get lost before the accountant asks for it.

Can a freeholder refuse consent to sublet without giving a reason?

A freeholder cannot refuse consent to sublet without giving written reasons where the lease covenant is qualified so that consent is not to be unreasonably withheld; if the lease contains an absolute ban on subletting, the freeholder may not have to consider the request at all. Section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 implies “a proviso to the effect that such licence or consent is not to be unreasonably withheld” into many qualified alienation covenants, and the 1988 Act then requires the landlord, if consent is withheld, to give “the reasons for withholding it.” The 1988 duties apply only where “the covenant is subject to the qualification that the consent is not to be unreasonably withheld,” so the first document to read is always the lease. If the freeholder refuses with no reason even though your lease allows letting subject to consent, the practical next step is a formal letter asking for written reasons and warning that unreasonable refusal may lead to a county court claim for breach of statutory duty.

What can you do if the freeholder does not respond to your application?

There is no 28-day, or any other numbered, deadline for a freeholder to respond to a consent application. Some market sites state one; it is not in the 1988 Act. Courts hold “reasonable time” is measured in weeks, not months. The Act says that, once a written application is served on the person who may consent, that person owes the tenant a duty “within a reasonable time,” and the Court of Appeal in Go West said: “It may be that the reasonable time referred to in section 1(3) will sometimes have to be measured in weeks rather days; but, even in complicated cases, it should in my view be measured in weeks rather than months.” Silence is not deemed consent, so letting anyway can still breach the lease. If the freeholder is not responding, send a chased written application with proof of service, identify the missing decision, and then consider a county court claim: the Act says breach “may be made the subject of civil proceedings in like manner as any other claim in tort for breach of statutory duty.”

Will a housing association or council freeholder grant consent to let?

A housing association or council freeholder may grant consent to let, but shared ownership, right-to-buy and 100% leasehold policies vary sharply, so the lease and the provider’s current policy matter more than the label housing association or council. For grant-funded shared ownership in England, Homes England says: “Although shared owners do not have the right to sub-let their home, a provider may agree to sub-letting arrangements where there is a genuine need for it.” That makes ex-shared-ownership subletting less predictable than an ordinary 100% leasehold flat. Moat’s January 2026 handbook gives a concrete example: “An administration fee of £225 + VAT (£270) is payable to Moat Homes Limited before we can grant permission for the sub-let tenancy,” and it caps consent at 12 months. By contrast, Southwark says its lease “does not stop leaseholders from sub-letting on a long term basis,” Notting Hill Genesis says consent will not be unreasonably refused where needed, and Peabody says 100% leaseholders are usually able to sublet subject to the lease.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 s.1 — “Where there is served on the person who may consent to a proposed transaction a written application by the tenant for consent to the transaction, he owes a duty to the tenant within a reasonable time—” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 s.7 — “This Act extends to England and Wales only.” Source
• LEASE, Subletting — “Put your request in writing, date it and keep copies of all letters.” Source
• FirstPort, buying and letting the property — “To contact our sublet consent team, please complete the online form on our dedicated page“How to apply for consents” and we will be in contact with you.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Law Amendment Act Ireland 1860 s.18 — “When any lease has been or shall be made containing an agreement against subletting or against letting in conacre, the benefit of which has not been waived before the first day of June one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, it shall not be lawful for the tenant to sublet the said lands or any part thereof, or, in case of an agreement against letting in conacre, to let the same in conacre, without the express consent in writing of the landlord or of his agent thereto lawfully authorized, testified by his being a party to the instrument of sub-lease, or by an indorsement on or subscription of such instrument, or by a note in writing signed by such landlord or his agent; and no receipt of rent by any landlord or his agent shall be deemed to be a waiver of any such agreement against subletting.” Source
• Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 s.4 — “(a)a qualifying lease becomes the right of ownership of the land in relation to which it is the qualifying lease,” Source
• Proxima GR Properties Ltd v Dr Thomas McGhee, Upper Tribunal — “Where a landlord receives a new request for consent to underlet it is entitled to satisfy itself that the terms of the proposed underletting are in accordance with the terms of the lease and to issue a written permission.” Source
• Proxima GR Properties Ltd v Dr Thomas McGhee, Upper Tribunal — “Where it is proposed to assign a lease there may be circumstances in which a landlord may reasonably insist on breaches of covenant being satisfied as a condition of granting consent (because the direct relationship between the parties is being changed) but a landlord is in no different position in relation to arrears of rent or service charges if the demised premises are sublet than if they are not.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 s.19 — “(a)to a proviso to the effect that such licence or consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, but this proviso does not preclude the right of the landlord to require payment of a reasonable sum in respect of any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with such licence or consent; and” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 Schedule 11 paragraph 2 — “A variable administration charge is payable only to the extent that the amount of the charge is reasonable.” Source
• Proxima GR Properties Ltd v Dr Thomas McGhee, Upper Tribunal — “The appeal is therefore allowed and I will substitute a determination under paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 11 to the 2002 Act that the appellant is entitled to require the payment of an administration charge of £95 including VAT as a condition of granting its consent to the respondent’s request to underlet the premises.” Source
• Crosspite Ltd v Sachdev, Upper Tribunal — “On the basis of the evidence before the LVT, in my judgment the only reasonable conclusion the LVT could properly and reasonably have reached was that the Appellant had discharged its burden of showing that the £165 was reasonable in the circumstances of this case.” Source
• Proxima GR Properties Ltd v Dr Thomas McGhee, Upper Tribunal — “The Tribunal substituted a fee of £40 plus VAT as the amount payable.” Source
• Hornchurch licence-to-sublet FTT decision — “The Tribunal determines that a reasonable sum for the Respondent to charge the Applicant in respect of a proposed licence to sublet would be no more than £500 including VAT and registration fees.” Source
• Haringey Council, subletting your leasehold property — “Single registration fee of £75: If your tenants tend to stay long-term (longer than 12 months or are on a rolling tenancy agreement) then this is a better option for you.” Source
• Hackney Council, renting out your leasehold — “We currently charge £30 for registering a sublet.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 Schedule 11 paragraph 4 — “A demand for the payment of an administration charge must be accompanied by a summary of the rights and obligations of tenants of dwellings in relation to administration charges.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 s.1 — “(ii)if the consent is withheld, the reasons for withholding it.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 s.1 — “(b)the covenant is subject to the qualification that the consent is not to be unreasonably withheld (whether or not it is also subject to any other qualification).” Source
• LEASE, Subletting — “If your lease bans subletting, the landlord does not have to consider your request and does not have to respond.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1988 s.4 — “A claim that a person has broken any duty under this Act may be made the subject of civil proceedings in like manner as any other claim in tort for breach of statutory duty.” Source
• Go West Ltd v Spigarolo, Court of Appeal — “It may be that the reasonable time referred to in section 1(3) will sometimes have to be measured in weeks rather days; but, even in complicated cases, it should in my view be measured in weeks rather than months.” Source
• Homes England Capital Funding Guide, shared ownership — “Although shared owners do not have the right to sub-let their home, a provider may agree to sub-letting arrangements where there is a genuine need for it.” Source
• Homes England Capital Funding Guide, shared ownership — “Sub-letting arrangements should not, for example, all be granted for the same length of time.” Source
• Moat homeowners handbook, January 2026 — “An administration fee of £225 + VAT (£270) is payable to Moat Homes Limited before we can grant permission for the sub-let tenancy.” Source
• Moat homeowners handbook, January 2026 — “If we agree to your request to sub-let your home, agreement will be for a maximum period of 12 months only.” Source
• Southwark Council, subletting your home — “Our lease does not stop leaseholders from sub-letting on a long term basis.” Source
• Notting Hill Genesis, subletting your leasehold property — “Where consent is needed, we will not unreasonably refuse it, and an administration fee may apply.” Source
• Peabody, 100% leaseholders and subletting — “100% Leaseholders are usually able to sublet but depending on the terms of the lease we may have to give consent.” Source