diff --git a/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/base.py b/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/base.py
index a0e03b002b34..305ab1d2ed16 100644
--- a/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/base.py
+++ b/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/base.py
@@ -38,11 +38,15 @@
             ids of requests that have completed async sending/recving.
 """
 
+import asyncio
 import enum
+import threading
+import time
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from collections.abc import Callable, Iterable
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Literal
 
+import aiohttp
 import torch
 
 from vllm.logger import init_logger
@@ -167,6 +171,7 @@ def __init__(
             "Initializing KVConnectorBase_V1. This API is experimental and "
             "subject to change in the future as we iterate the design."
         )
+        self._reqs_need_lease: set[Request] = set()
         self._connector_metadata: KVConnectorMetadata | None = None
         self._vllm_config = vllm_config
         if vllm_config.kv_transfer_config is not None:
@@ -183,6 +188,22 @@ def __init__(
             )
         self._role = role
 
+        if role == KVConnectorRole.SCHEDULER:
+            self._last_lease_refresh_time = time.perf_counter()
+            self._lease_refresh_loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+
+            def background_loop(loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop):
+                asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
+                loop.run_forever()
+
+            self._lease_refresh_thread = threading.Thread(
+                target=background_loop,
+                args=(self._lease_refresh_loop,),
+                daemon=True,
+                name="kv-lease-refresh-thread",
+            )
+            self._lease_refresh_thread.start()
+
     @property
     def role(self) -> KVConnectorRole:
         return self._role
@@ -413,6 +434,62 @@ def get_handshake_metadata(self) -> KVConnectorHandshakeMetadata | None:
     # Scheduler-side methods
     # ==============================
 
+    def add_request(self, request: "Request"):
+        """
+        Add a request to the connector's state. This is called when a new
+        request is added to the scheduler, and can be used by the connector
+        to track the requests it needs to handle.
+
+        Args:
+            request (Request): the request object.
+        """
+        if (
+            request.kv_transfer_params is not None
+            and hasattr(request.kv_transfer_params, "remote_engine_id")
+            and getattr(request.kv_transfer_params, "do_remote_prefill", False)
+        ):
+            self._reqs_need_lease.add(request.request_id)
+
+    def refresh_leases(self):
+        """
+        Refresh the leases for requests that need it. This is called periodically
+        by the scheduler to ensure that the connector can maintain any necessary
+        leases for the requests it is handling.
+        """
+
+        LEASE_REFRESH_TIME_S = 5
+        if time.perf_counter() - self._last_lease_refresh_time < LEASE_REFRESH_TIME_S:
+            return
+
+        async def _http_lease_refresh(request_id: str):
+            async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
+                url = "http://localhost:7000/refresh_kv_lease"
+                async with session.post(
+                    url, json={"request_id": request_id}
+                ) as response:
+                    print(f"[BG] [{request_id}] {url} -> {response.status}")
+
+        for request_id in self._reqs_need_lease:
+            # TODO: get result of the future and check if the remote engine
+            # is still running so we can avoid KV transfer failure.
+            _ = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
+                _http_lease_refresh(request_id), self._lease_refresh_loop
+            )
+        self._last_lease_refresh_time = time.perf_counter()
+
+    def finish_lease_refresh(self, request_id: str):
+        """
+        Stop lease refresh for a request. This is called when a request is finished
+        to stop refreshing its lease.
+
+        Args:
+            request_id (str): the ID of the request.
+        """
+        self._reqs_need_lease.discard(request_id)
+
+    def handle_refresh_lease(self, request_id: str):
+        return
+
     @abstractmethod
     def get_num_new_matched_tokens(
         self,
@@ -513,6 +590,9 @@ def request_finished(
             Optional KVTransferParams to be included in the request outputs
             returned by the engine.
         """
+        # NOTE(rob): we need to ensure all subclasses call this super() method,
+        # else we will get a leak from not cleaning up _reqs_need_lease.
+        self._reqs_need_lease.discard(request.request_id)
         return False, None
 
     def take_events(self) -> Iterable["KVCacheEvent"]:
diff --git a/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py b/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py
index 87091d650b17..76fdffb56749 100644
--- a/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py
+++ b/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py
@@ -256,6 +256,7 @@ def __init__(self):
         self.reqs_to_recv: dict[ReqId, ReqMeta] = {}
         self.reqs_to_save: dict[ReqId, ReqMeta] = {}
         self.reqs_to_send: dict[ReqId, float] = {}
+        self.reqs_to_refresh: set[ReqId] = set()
         self.reqs_in_batch: set[ReqId] = set()
         self.reqs_not_processed: set[ReqId] = set()
 
@@ -281,6 +282,12 @@ def add_new_req_to_save(
             local_block_ids, kv_transfer_params
         )
 
+    def add_new_req_to_refresh(
+        self,
+        request_id: ReqId,
+    ):
+        self.reqs_to_refresh.add(request_id)
+
     def add_new_req_to_recv(
         self,
         request_id: ReqId,
@@ -366,6 +373,12 @@ def get_required_kvcache_layout(cls, vllm_config: VllmConfig):
     # Scheduler Side Methods
     ############################################################
 
+    def handle_refresh_lease(self, request_id: str):
+        assert self.connector_scheduler is not None
+        return self.connector_scheduler.handle_refresh_lease(
+            request_id,
+        )
+
     def get_num_new_matched_tokens(
         self, request: "Request", num_computed_tokens: int
     ) -> tuple[int | None, bool]:
@@ -394,6 +407,8 @@ def request_finished(
         request: "Request",
         block_ids: list[int],
     ) -> tuple[bool, dict[str, Any] | None]:
+        # NOTE(rob): we need to ensure the subclasses all call this.
+        super().request_finished(request, block_ids)
         assert self.connector_scheduler is not None
         return self.connector_scheduler.request_finished(request, block_ids)
 
@@ -433,7 +448,8 @@ def set_host_xfer_buffer_ops(self, copy_operation: CopyBlocksOp):
     def get_finished(self, finished_req_ids: set[str]) -> tuple[set[str], set[str]]:
         """Get the finished recving and sending requests."""
         assert self.connector_worker is not None
-        return self.connector_worker.get_finished()
+        assert isinstance(self._connector_metadata, NixlConnectorMetadata)
+        return self.connector_worker.get_finished(self._connector_metadata)
 
     def get_block_ids_with_load_errors(self) -> set[int]:
         """Get block IDs that failed to load via NIXL."""
@@ -546,6 +562,7 @@ def __init__(self, vllm_config: VllmConfig, engine_id: str):
         self._reqs_need_save: dict[ReqId, Request] = {}
         # Reqs to send and their expiration time
         self._reqs_need_send: dict[ReqId, float] = {}
+        self._reqs_need_refresh: set[ReqId] = set()
         self._reqs_in_batch: set[ReqId] = set()
         # Reqs to remove from processed set because they're not to send after
         # remote prefill or aborted.
@@ -557,6 +574,11 @@ def shutdown(self):
             self._nixl_handshake_listener_t.join()
             self._nixl_handshake_listener_t = None
 
+    def handle_refresh_lease(self, request_id: str):
+        # We will refresh the lease by extending the expiration time.
+        # TODO: should check if in reqs_need_send?
+        self._reqs_need_refresh.add(request_id)
+
     def set_xfer_handshake_metadata(
         self, metadata: dict[int, KVConnectorHandshakeMetadata]
     ) -> None:
@@ -777,6 +799,7 @@ def build_connector_meta(
         self._reqs_in_batch = set()
         self._reqs_not_processed = set()
         self._reqs_need_send = {}
+        self._reqs_need_refresh = set()
 
         return meta
 
@@ -989,6 +1012,7 @@ def __init__(self, vllm_config: VllmConfig, engine_id: str):
         self._recving_transfers = defaultdict[ReqId, list[TransferHandle]](list)
         # Track the expiration time of requests that are waiting to be sent.
         self._reqs_to_send: dict[ReqId, float] = {}
+        self._reqs_to_refresh: set[ReqId] = set()
         # Set of requests that have been part of a batch, regardless of status.
         self._reqs_to_process: set[ReqId] = set()
 
@@ -1931,7 +1955,9 @@ def post_process_device_kv_on_receive(
                             cache, indices, block_size_ratio
                         )
 
-    def get_finished(self) -> tuple[set[str], set[str]]:
+    def get_finished(
+        self, connector_metadata: NixlConnectorMetadata
+    ) -> tuple[set[str], set[str]]:
         """
         Get requests that are done sending or recving on this specific worker.
         The scheduler process (via the MultiprocExecutor) will use this output
@@ -1979,17 +2005,25 @@ def get_finished(self) -> tuple[set[str], set[str]]:
         ) in block_ids_for_blocksize_post_process.items():
             self.post_process_device_kv_on_receive(block_size_ratio, block_ids_list)
 
-        # Handle timeout to avoid stranding blocks on remote.
+        # Handle timeout: free P-side KV blocks for requests whose lease expired.
+        # Full scan (not early-break) since lease refreshes may change expiry
+        # order arbitrarily.
         now = time.perf_counter()
-        while self._reqs_to_send:
-            req_id, expires = next(iter(self._reqs_to_send.items()))
-            # Sorted dict, oldest requests are put first so we can exit early.
-            if now < expires:
-                break
+        for req_id in self._reqs_to_send:
+            # If we have a lease refresh, update it.
+            if req_id in connector_metadata.reqs_to_refresh:
+                self._reqs_to_send[req_id] = now + envs.VLLM_NIXL_ABORT_REQUEST_TIMEOUT
+
+            # Lease not yet expired, continue.
+            expires_t = self._reqs_to_send[req_id]
+            if expires_t > now:
+                continue
+
+            # Lease expired, free it and push back to scheduler.
             count = self.consumer_notification_counts_by_req.pop(req_id, 0)
             self.xfer_stats.record_kv_expired_req()
             logger.warning(
-                "Releasing expired KV blocks for request %s which were "
+                "Releasing expired KV blocks for request %s which were not "
                 "retrieved by %d decode worker(s) within %d seconds.",
                 req_id,
                 count,
diff --git a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py
index d76a7446d2a9..a9bdad47c326 100644
--- a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py
+++ b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/api_server.py
@@ -188,6 +188,12 @@ def build_app(
 
     register_models_api_router(app)
 
+    from vllm.entrypoints.openai.internal import (
+        attach_router as attach_internal_router,
+    )
+
+    attach_internal_router(app)
+
     from vllm.entrypoints.sagemaker.api_router import (
         attach_router as register_sagemaker_api_router,
     )
diff --git a/vllm/entrypoints/openai/internal.py b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/internal.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7ea049a76da9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vllm/entrypoints/openai/internal.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright contributors to the vLLM project
+
+import json
+
+from fastapi import APIRouter, FastAPI, Request
+from fastapi.responses import Response
+
+from vllm.logger import init_logger
+
+logger = init_logger(__name__)
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+
+@router.post("/internal/kv_connector_refresh_lease")
+async def kv_connector_refresh_lease(raw_request: Request) -> Response:
+    """Receive KV lease refresh requests from D workers.
+
+    D workers POST here periodically while requests are queued, before the
+    KV transfer begins, to prevent P from expiring and freeing KV blocks
+    prematurely.
+    """
+    try:
+        body = await raw_request.json()
+        request_id: str = body.get("request_id")
+    except (json.JSONDecodeError, Exception) as e:
+        logger.warning(
+            "kv_connector_refresh_lease: failed to parse request body: %s", e
+        )
+        return Response(status_code=400)
+
+    engine_client = raw_request.app.state.engine_client
+    await engine_client.call_utility_async("kv_connector_refresh_lease", request_id)
+    return Response(status_code=200)
+
+
+def attach_router(app: FastAPI) -> None:
+    app.include_router(router)
diff --git a/vllm/v1/core/sched/scheduler.py b/vllm/v1/core/sched/scheduler.py
index bf397ad681ca..fe7b745af341 100644
--- a/vllm/v1/core/sched/scheduler.py
+++ b/vllm/v1/core/sched/scheduler.py
@@ -1676,6 +1676,8 @@ def add_request(self, request: Request) -> None:
             if request.resumable:
                 request.streaming_queue = deque()
             self.waiting.add_request(request)
+            if self.connector is not None:
+                self.connector.add_request(request)
             self.requests[request.request_id] = request
             if self.log_stats:
                 request.record_event(EngineCoreEventType.QUEUED)
@@ -1976,6 +1978,9 @@ def _update_waiting_for_remote_kv(self, request: Request) -> bool:
         if request.request_id not in self.finished_recving_kv_req_ids:
             return False
 
+        # Stop KV lease refresh for this request as we are done.
+        self.connector.finish_lease_refresh(request.request_id)
+
         if request.request_id in self.failed_recving_kv_req_ids:
             # Request had KV load failures; num_computed_tokens was already
             # updated in _update_requests_with_invalid_blocks
diff --git a/vllm/v1/engine/core.py b/vllm/v1/engine/core.py
index 4de3e4ea7d3a..9551b3b1c9ec 100644
--- a/vllm/v1/engine/core.py
+++ b/vllm/v1/engine/core.py
@@ -576,6 +576,16 @@ def reset_prefix_cache(
             reset_running_requests, reset_connector
         )
 
+    def kv_connector_refresh_lease(self, request_id: str) -> None:
+        """Refresh the KV block lease for pending remote-decode requests.
+
+        Called on P-side OpenAI API server when D workers POST
+        /internal/kv_connector_refresh_lease.
+        """
+        connector = self.scheduler.get_kv_connector()
+        if connector is not None:
+            connector.handle_refresh_lease(request_id)
+
     def reset_encoder_cache(self) -> None:
         """Reset the encoder cache to invalidate all cached encoder outputs.