If you own a building that hosts a mobile phone mast or a rooftop antenna or any kind of telecommunications infrastructure then you are not just a conventional landlord. You are a site provider. This implies a role that carries a particular and often underestimated set of legal rules along with financial consequences and regulatory pressures that is similar to a standard commercial tenancy. This is where a telecommunications consultant steps in.
For a lot of property owners, the role sounds unimportant as somewhere between a surveyor and a solicitor who deals with mast agreements and rooftop kit they rarely think about. In practice, it is far more consequential. A telecoms consultant is a specialist adviser who represents the landlord’s interests across every stage of a relationship that can span decades and significantly affect the capital value of a property.
This article sets out what a telecommunications consultant actually does for landlords and why, in the current regulatory environment, having one is not a luxury but a practical necessity.
Why Telecoms Agreements Are Not Like Ordinary Leases?
Before examining the consultant’s role, it is worth understanding the environment in which they operate. The Electronic Communications Code, introduced under the Digital Economy Act 2017 and further amended in subsequent Infrastructure legislation, fundamentally rebalanced the relationship between network operators and the property owners whose buildings and land they occupy.
Before the Code, telecoms agreements broadly resembled commercial leases. Rents were set by open market demand, and landlords held reasonable negotiating power. The Code changed this in ways that continue to catch property owners off guard. Under the current framework, rents are assessed on a “no-network” principle — a statutory valuation methodology that disregards the value the operator derives from the site, often producing dramatically lower rents than landlords previously received. Operators also have access rights that allow them to make an application to the tribunal if agreement cannot be reached through negotiation, and in certain circumstances they can upgrade or share their equipment without requiring the landlord’s approval. The majority of disputes are resolved through the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) rather than through negotiation, placing uninformed landlords at a significant structural disadvantage.
Landlords of existing telecom sites, particularly on high-rise buildings and other prime locations, are now seeing stark reductions in rental value. In some cases, income from telecoms sites has fallen by as much as 90% compared with pre-Code agreements — not because landlords agreed to less, but because they signed renewals without specialist representation and had unfavourable terms effectively imposed upon them
What a Telecommunications Consultant Does?
Agreement Negotiation and Code Consultancy
The most visible work a telecoms consultant does is representing landlords in negotiations with network operators. This is not comparable to commercial lease negotiation. Telecoms agreements use statutory valuation rules for establishing rent, assessed based on the “no-network” principle, which is not based on open market demand. Standard property negotiation strategies simply do not apply.
A qualified consultant approaches renewal or new agreement negotiations from an evidence-based position, building a schedule of comparable data and designing a negotiation strategy that is calibrated to what the operator is genuinely entitled to under the Code — versus what they are simply attempting to secure through the path of least resistance. Using the services of a professional consultant, landlords can create an evidence-based response, design a schedule for negotiating their agreements, increase the likelihood that the terms of the agreement will not be imposed by the tribunal, and improve relationships with operators or providers.
When negotiations escalate to the Upper Tribunal, the consultant provides strategic advice, expert valuation evidence, and coordinates with legal partners to ensure the landlord’s case is presented effectively and cost-efficiently.
Access and Works Management
Once an agreement is in place, the operator relationship does not end. Network operators regularly request access to sites for maintenance, equipment upgrades, and increasingly for substantial works associated with the ongoing rollout of 5G infrastructure. These access rights are broad, and if unmanaged they can disrupt property operations, create safety risks, and interfere with tenants.
A telecommunications consultant provides end-to-end management of all telecoms-related access, managing all access requests from network operators, facilitating scheduled maintenance and upgrades while safeguarding property assets, ensuring that all works align with health and safety standards, and protecting property owners, tenants, and contractor personnel. This includes conducting structural and planning reviews with third-party consultants, carrying out pre- and post-works inspections, managing contractor and tenant communications, and recovering reasonable costs from operators where applicable.
For commercial landlords with tenants in occupation, unmanaged telecoms works can damage tenant relationships and create liability. A consultant absorbs that operational burden entirely.
Site Audits and Due Diligence
Many landlords who hold long-standing telecoms agreements — or who acquired them as part of a property purchase — have limited visibility of what is actually happening on their roof or site. Equipment may have been expanded beyond what the original agreement permitted. Rent may be in arrears. A second operator may have been introduced through sharing arrangements without proper notification.
By undertaking a review of existing agreements and site inspections, a telecoms consultant can ensure landlords are made aware of outstanding arrears, whether equipment allowances have been adhered to, and whether the site has been shared with another operator. More broadly, a professional audit establishes whether an agreement is under-rented and how income can be maximised going forward.
Site audits and due diligence are also essential during property transactions. Telecoms agreements can affect a building’s capital value, must be properly disclosed during acquisitions or disposals, and require specialist evaluation as part of any refinancing process.
Development and Vacant Possession
If a landlord intends to redevelop a site, the presence of telecoms equipment introduces a layer of legal complexity that can delay or derail development programmes when handled incorrectly. Under the Code, operators hold statutory rights that make removing telecoms infrastructure considerably harder and more expensive than removing a standard commercial tenant.
A specialist consultant with experience on both the landlord and operator sides of the industry can plan and manage the removal or relocation process in a way that minimises legal cost and protects the development programme. With experience on the operator’s side, a skilled consultant has in-depth knowledge of the procedures operators must follow to relocate a site, in addition to a full understanding of the complexities of the Telecommunications Code and surrounding legislation — enabling them to ensure development plans are not unnecessarily constrained by the presence of telecoms apparatus.
Utility and Energy Cost Recovery
The energy demands of telecoms equipment have grown considerably with 5G infrastructure upgrades. Without properly structured and monitored utility arrangements, landlords can find themselves absorbing operator energy costs — a problem that compounds silently over years and is difficult to unwind retrospectively. Telecoms utility services ensure property owners recover utility costs from operators by managing accurate billing, metering, and cost allocation for telecoms usage, providing transparency and fairness and protecting landlords from the rising energy demands of 5G infrastructure.
Arc Partners: Specialist Telecommunications Consultants for UK Landlords
For landlords seeking expert representation in this field, Arc Partners is one of the UK’s leading firms of RICS-registered Chartered Surveyors working exclusively in telecommunications property management. Based in London, Arc Partners is one of the few property consultancies offering specialist expertise in telecommunications, working for some of the UK’s most prestigious landlords, with a portfolio that includes some of London’s most iconic buildings.
Arc Partners provides expert consultancy and management solutions to help property owners navigate the complexities of telecommunications and network infrastructure, ensuring compliance, protecting property interests, and streamlining operations with tailored, professional support.
What sets Arc Partners apart is the depth of focus. Telecoms property management is not one service alongside others — it is the entirety of what the firm does. The team combines RICS-registered surveying expertise with deep, practical knowledge of the Electronic Communications Code, giving clients a genuinely expert advocate in an environment where generalist property advice frequently falls short.
Their core services cover every stage of the telecoms lifecycle:
| Professional and Code Consultancy | Helping landlords navigate the challenges of telecommunication site agreements under the Digital Economy Act 2017, which heavily favours network operators and infrastructure providers, providing the support needed to manage disputes, protect property value, and comply with complex regulations. |
| Access and Works Management | Handling telecommunication access requests from maintenance to major upgrades, with tailored site-specific management that streamlines processes, handles compliance, and oversees contractors, minimising disruptions to core business operations. |
| Estates Management | Comprehensive oversight for operator telecommunication occupancies to safeguard property owner interests, from site audits and due diligence to lease negotiations and agreement renewals, ensuring roof spaces remain compliant whilst still under the landlord’s control. |
| Site Audit and Due Diligence | Guiding property owners hosting telecoms infrastructure through essential compliance and risk management, particularly in connection with acquisitions, disposals, and refinancing. |
| Utility Services | Recovering telecoms-related energy costs from operators with accurate billing and metering management. |
| Development and Vacant Possession | Managing the removal or relocation of telecoms apparatus to facilitate redevelopment, drawing on team members’ direct experience on the operator side of the industry. |
Arc Partners’ client base spans major listed property companies including Helical and Safestore to commercial property operators such as Workspace and Business Environment. The team at Arc has served Workspace for the past decade, proving invaluable on telecoms matters and guiding them through the complexities of the legislation.
The Bottom Line for Landlords
A telecommunications consultant is not a nice-to-have. In a regulatory environment built around statutory frameworks that most property professionals do not fully understand, specialist representation is the difference between a telecoms agreement that works as an asset and one that quietly erodes income and property value over many years.
Whether the immediate issue is a renewal negotiation, a development requiring vacant possession, a rooftop access request, or simply understanding what rights you have under your existing agreement — the cost of specialist advice is almost always considerably less than the cost of getting it wrong without one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a telecommunications consultant and why do landlords need one?
A telecommunications consultant is a specialist adviser who represents property owners in all matters relating to telecoms infrastructure on their land or buildings. Landlords need one because this framework is heavily weighted in favour of operators. Without specialist representation, property owners routinely accept lower rents, more restrictive access terms, and longer agreement durations than they are obliged to under the law. A telecoms consultant levels the playing field by negotiating from a position of informed, evidence-based expertise.
How is a telecoms agreement different from a standard commercial lease?
Telecoms agreements operate under an entirely different legal framework. Under the Electronic Communications Code, rents are assessed using a “no-network” principle that disregards the value the operator derives from your site — typically producing far lower rents than a market-based calculation would. Operators also have statutory rights to apply to the Upper Tribunal if negotiations break down, and can in certain circumstances upgrade or share equipment without the landlord’s approval. These rules simply do not exist in standard tenancy law, which is why general property professionals are often poorly placed to handle telecoms negotiations alone.
Can a telecoms consultant help if I already have an agreement in place?
Yes — and this is often where specialist advice has the greatest impact. Many landlords are unaware that equipment on their site has been upgraded or expanded beyond what was agreed, that a second operator has been introduced through sharing arrangements, or that their rent is below what a properly negotiated renewal should deliver.
What happens when an operator requests access to my property for works or upgrades?
The Electronic Communications Code grants operators broad access rights, so these requests cannot simply be refused. However, how they are managed matters significantly — particularly if you have tenants in the building. A telecoms consultant handles the entire process on your behalf, reviewing the scope of proposed works, coordinating any required structural or planning reviews, conducting pre- and post-works inspections, overseeing contractors on site, and recovering reasonable costs from the operator where applicable.
Can a telecommunications consultant help if I want to redevelop my property?
Yes. Redeveloping a site with telecoms infrastructure in place is considerably more complex than obtaining vacant possession from a standard tenant. Operators hold strong statutory protections under the Code, and the removal process must be handled carefully to avoid delays and legal costs that can derail a development programme.
