Lease plans for the Land Registry: what they must show

By the Section Scale team · Published 7 November 2026

The short answer

HM Land Registry needs to be able to place the property exactly on the Ordnance Survey map. A plan that cannot be matched to the map, or that is unclear about what is included, can be rejected and sent back to your solicitor, which delays the registration.

What the plan should show

• A stated scale. HM Land Registry prefers 1:1250 or 1:500 for urban property
• A north point, so the plan can be lined up with the Ordnance Survey map
• Metric measurements, in metres to two decimal places
• Surrounding roads and buildings, so the location can be identified
• The extent of the property at every floor level, with each floor named
• Any garage, parking space, bin store or garden included in the lease
• Every colour or marking the lease refers to, clearly shown

Common reasons plans are rejected

• Wording such as "for identification purposes only" or "do not scale"
• Thick edging that hides detail or makes the boundary unclear
• A floor, garage or parking space mentioned in the lease but missing from the plan
• A reduced copy with the original scale still printed on it
• Hand-drawn sketches

Flats and parts of buildings

For a flat, the plan needs to show where it sits within the footprint of the building, and the extent on each floor. Internal divisions that are too small to see at the main scale should go on a separate plan at a larger scale, such as 1:200.

The landlord signs every plan that shows the extent of the property. If the plan is printed from a PDF, it must be printed at 100%, not "fit to page", or the scale will be wrong.

What we provide

We measure the property on site and draw the lease plan to HM Land Registry’s published guidance (practice guide 40), with floor plans for each level and a location plan. You receive a PDF ready to attach to the lease and the AutoCAD file for your solicitor or managing agent.

Related services

• Area measurement and lease plans