Your Photocopier Lease Is Ending: What Are Your Options? (UK Guide 2026)

Your photocopier lease is coming to an end. This should be good news. But in the print industry, the end of a lease is where suppliers quietly make their easiest money, and where businesses that do nothing end up paying for years longer than they intended.

Here is exactly what your options are, the traps to avoid, and the one thing you must do before anything else.

First, the most important thing: check your notice period

Most photocopier leases do not simply stop when the term ends. Buried in the small print is usually an automatic extension clause. If you do not give written notice, typically 90 days before the end date, the lease rolls into what is called a secondary rental period, and you keep paying, often at the same rate, for a machine that is now worth very little.

Some agreements roll on for a full year at a time. We have seen businesses pay thousands of pounds extra simply because nobody sent a letter.

Do this today: dig out your lease agreement, find the end date and the notice period, and put a reminder in your diary at least four months before the lease ends. If you are already inside the notice window, send written notice now to protect your position. Giving notice does not commit you to anything. It simply keeps every option open.

Your four options at the end of a lease

1. Upgrade to a new device

The most common route. You take a new machine on a fresh lease, usually with better technology and often at a similar or lower monthly cost, because devices have become cheaper and more efficient over the past five years.

Watch out for: any remaining payments or settlement on your old lease being quietly rolled into the new one. Ask for the new lease cost with and without any settlement included so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

2. Extend and keep your current machine

If the device still does the job, you can often extend on reduced payments, since the hardware has already been paid for. This suits businesses that are downsizing, relocating soon, or waiting on a bigger decision before committing to a new term.

Watch out for: extensions offered at your existing full rate. The machine is paid off. If your supplier wants the same money for a five year old device, ask why.

3. Return the machine and walk away

You are entitled to hand the device back at the end of the term with nothing more to pay on the lease itself.

Watch out for: return costs. The lease usually makes you responsible for decommissioning, certified hard drive wiping (photocopiers store images of everything they have scanned and printed) and delivery back to the finance company, often to a specific location. Get these costs confirmed in writing before you decide.

4. Switch supplier

The end of your lease is the one moment you can change supplier with no settlement to pay. If service has been slow, page rates have crept up every year, or you simply have not tested the market since you signed, this is your window.

A new supplier will typically handle collection and return of your old device as part of the deal, and a competitive quote costs you nothing even if you stay put.

Can I get out before the lease ends?

Yes, but you will pay a settlement figure, which is broadly the remaining payments on the agreement. If a new supplier offers to "buy out" your existing contract, that settlement does not disappear. It gets rolled into your new lease and you pay it back monthly.

Sometimes that still makes sense, for example if your current page rates are so high that a new deal saves money even with the settlement included. But always ask to see the numbers separated out.

Questions to ask your current supplier

• What is my exact lease end date and notice period?

• What is my settlement figure today?

• What are the return conditions and who pays for collection?

  
  

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I do nothing when my photocopier lease ends? Most agreements automatically extend into a secondary rental period and you continue paying, sometimes at the full original rate. Always give written notice within the required window.

Who owns the photocopier at the end of the lease? The finance company, not you and not usually the supplier. That is why the device must be returned or a new arrangement agreed.

Do I have to return the photocopier at my own cost? Usually yes, unless a new supplier includes collection as part of a fresh agreement. Check your contract for the exact return conditions.

Is my data safe when the photocopier is returned? Only if the hard drive is properly wiped. Ask for certified data destruction with documentation for your GDPR records.

Can I switch photocopier supplier at the end of my lease? Yes, and it is the only point in the contract where switching costs you nothing in settlement fees. It is the ideal time to test the market.

Get a no obligation comparison before you decide

XOS has supplied and serviced Xerox and Lexmark devices across the UK since 2007. Send us your current invoice and lease end date and we will show you, in plain numbers, whether upgrading, extending or switching saves you the most.

Request your free end of lease review today. It takes ten minutes and could save you thousands.