PSTI Act Section 68: Payments While a Phone Mast Code Case Is Decided

Updated September 2026. This article was first published in December 2023. It has been rewritten to explain exactly what Section 68 changed, to separate it from the rules for leases under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, and to remove an example that was not based on a real case.

In short

• Section 68 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 amended Paragraph 35 of the Electronic Communications Code, with effect from 7 November 2023.
• Paragraph 35 deals with the payments due while an application to end or renew a Code agreement is being decided by the tribunal.
• Either the operator or the landowner can now ask for an order fixing those payments, and the order can take effect from the date of the application.
• The payments are assessed on the Code's no-network basis in Paragraph 24.
• It does not apply to leases renewed under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which have their own interim rent rules.

When Paragraph 35 applies

A Code agreement does not simply end when its term expires. Under Paragraph 30 of the Code, the operator's rights continue until the agreement is brought to an end under Part 5.

Paragraph 35 applies where both of these are true:

1. a code right is continuing under Paragraph 30 beyond the point at which it would otherwise have ended, or could have been brought to an end by the landowner; and
2. the operator or the landowner has applied to the tribunal either under Paragraph 32, after a landowner's termination notice and an operator's counter-notice, or under Paragraph 33, for the agreement to be modified or replaced with new terms.

Tribunal cases take time, so the question is what the landowner is paid in the meantime.

What the landowner and operator can do

Paragraph 35 now gives three options.

Keep the current payments. The landowner can agree with the operator that the payments under the existing agreement continue until the application is finally decided.

Agree different payments. The landowner and operator can agree that different payments will apply until then.

Ask the tribunal. Either party can apply for an order that either:

• specifies the payments the operator must make until the main application is finally determined, or
• otherwise modifies the terms of the existing agreement until that time.

How interim payments are assessed

If the tribunal sets the payments, it must do so on the basis set out in Paragraph 24 of the Code. That is the no-network basis used for all Code consideration: the value of the rights is assessed as if they had nothing to do with a telecoms network, ignoring the operator's statutory sharing and upgrading rights, and assuming there is more than one site the operator could use.

An order setting payments can be backdated to the date of the application for that order.

If the tribunal is asked to modify other terms in the meantime, it must have regard to all the circumstances, and in particular to:

• the terms of the existing agreement;
• the operator's business and technical needs;
• the use the landowner is making of the land;
• any duties imposed on the landowner by legislation; and
• the payments due under the existing agreement.

What this means for landowners

• Your income does not have to be frozen or left uncertain while a Code case runs. You can agree the position with the operator or ask the tribunal to fix it.
• The interim figure will be on the Code basis, so if your existing rent is higher than a Code valuation, keeping the current payments by agreement may be worth more than asking the tribunal.
• Timing matters. An order can only be backdated to the date of the application for it, so if the payments are disputed, it is worth applying promptly.
• The final decision still matters most. When the tribunal decides the main application under Paragraph 34, it can order the operator to pay any shortfall back to the date the old agreement would otherwise have ended.

Leases under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 are different

Paragraph 35 is part of the Code, so it applies to Code agreements. Many phone mast leases granted before 28 December 2017 are protected by the 1954 Act instead and are renewed through a Section 25 notice or a Section 26 request.

For those leases, the rent while a renewal is pending is interim rent under Sections 24A to 24D of the 1954 Act. Since 7 April 2026, interim rent and renewal rent for most of these telecoms leases are assessed on a no-network basis under Section 34A, subject to transitional rules. Our article on what the PSTI Act 2026 changes mean for landlords and our Section 26 notice guide explain that route.

This article is general guidance for landowners in England and Wales and does not constitute legal advice.

Related Services

• Phone Mast Lease Renewals
• Removal and Redevelopment
• Free Lease Check

Call us on 01691 791543 or contact us online for a free initial review.

Sources

• PSTI Act 2022, Section 68
• Electronic Communications Code, Paragraph 35
• Electronic Communications Code, Paragraph 24
• Electronic Communications Code, Paragraph 34
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, Section 24D