Forced Phone Mast Lease Renewals: What Landlords Must Know
Matt Restall
Specialist Telecom Surveyor
Updated September 2026. This article was reviewed and corrected in September 2026. We have corrected who serves a Part 4 notice, clarified that older leases protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 are not renewed under Part 5 of the Code, and updated operator names.
Understanding Forced Phone Mast Lease Renewals
The Part 4 or Part 5 Notices are being served by all the major Phone Mast operators, including: Vodafone, EE, On Tower (formerly Arqiva), O2, and Hutchison 3G.
The legal notices are an attempt by the operators to try to enforce new agreements under the Electronic Communications Code (set out in Schedule 3A to the Communications Act 2003, as inserted by the Digital Economy Act 2017).
Matt Restall, director at The Phone Mast Advice Company Ltd comments: “While we have seen many Part 4 and 5 Notices served on Phone Mast landlords, operators appear confused whether either of these can be relied on.”
A Part 4 Notice (under paragraph 20 of the Code) is served by an operator on a landowner or occupier when the operator wants an agreement conferring Code rights. A Part 5 Notice is used where a Code agreement has expired or is coming to an end, but it does not apply to older leases granted before 28 December 2017 that are protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which are renewed under that Act instead.
Matt continues: “Legal notices can be a scare tactic by the operators but should not simply be ignored. If you have received a Part 4 or Part 5 Notice for your Phone Mast and are concerned about what this could mean for your Phone Mast and rental income, you must take action before the deadline on the Notice.”
The Phone Mast Advice Company Ltd has over 15 years’ experience advising Phone Mast landlords and can be contacted on: 0203 8830605.
Related Services
If you need expert advice on the topics discussed in this article, our specialist surveyors can help:
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Vodafone Phone Mast Leases
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O2 Phone Mast Leases
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Arqiva Phone Mast Leases
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Phone Mast Lease Renewals
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Matt Restall
Founder & Specialist Telecom Surveyor, The Phone Mast Advice Company Ltd
Matt Restall has over 30 years' experience advising UK landlords on phone mast leases and rent reviews. He instigated and advised on the landmark Compton Beauchamp Estates v CTIL case and has completed over 10,000 deals on behalf of landowners across England and Wales. Matt represents landlords — never operators.