Lease Extensions.

Yes. Since 31 January 2025, the two-year ownership requirement has been abolished, so you no longer need to have owned the property for two years before exercising the statutory right to extend. You can serve a statutory notice as soon as your purchase has been registered at HM Land Registry — this was one of the first reforms under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to come into force. It is particularly useful where you are buying a property with a short lease: rather than waiting, you can extend straight away, and you may be able to agree that the seller serves the statutory notice before completion and assigns the benefit of it to you, so the clock does not restart. We can advise on the best approach when you are buying a leasehold property that needs extending.

Under the statutory route, no — the freeholder cannot refuse to grant an extension to a qualifying leaseholder. The statutory right is absolute, subject only to the leaseholder meeting the qualifying criteria. The freeholder can dispute the premium and negotiate on terms, and can require the matter to go to tribunal if agreement cannot be reached — but they cannot simply refuse to extend. Under the informal route, the freeholder can refuse entirely or decline to engage — which is why the statutory route exists as a backstop. Where a freeholder is uncooperative, serving a formal Section 42 notice and proceeding through the statutory process is the appropriate response.

A statutory lease extension typically takes six to twelve months from service of the initial Section 42 notice to completion of the new lease. The two-month period for the freeholder's counter-notice, followed by negotiation on the premium, accounts for much of the time. If the matter proceeds to tribunal, the timeline extends further — tribunal proceedings can add six months or more. An informal extension can be completed more quickly where the freeholder is cooperative — sometimes within a few months — but there is no fixed timetable and negotiations can drag. Starting the process well in advance of any planned sale or mortgage application is strongly advisable.

A statutory lease extension under the current law adds 90 years to the unexpired term of your existing lease for a flat (50 years for a house), and reduces the ground rent to a peppercorn — zero — for the extended term. So if you have 75 years remaining on a flat, you end up with 165 years. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 provides for this to increase to a single 990-year term, but that change is not yet in force. As at 2026, the major reforms are being implemented on a phased basis over several years, with no confirmed date, and the government has indicated that some of the changes may be taken forward through further legislation. For any extension you are considering now, the current 90-year (or 50-year) regime applies, and you should not rely on the 990-year term being available on any particular timetable. We will advise you on the position as it stands when you extend.

The premium payable to the freeholder for a lease extension is calculated using a statutory valuation formula that takes into account the current lease length, the ground rent, the property value, and — for leases below 80 years — marriage value. The shorter the lease and the higher the property value, the greater the premium. As a rough guide, extending a lease with 85 years remaining on a property worth £300,000 might cost several thousand pounds; the same extension on a lease with 75 years remaining could cost significantly more due to marriage value. In addition to the premium, you pay your own solicitor's and valuer's fees and — under the statutory route — a reasonable contribution to the freeholder's legal and valuation costs. We charge by the hour and provide a written estimate at the outset.

Extending before selling is almost always the better commercial decision. A short lease — particularly below 80 years — will narrow your pool of buyers, as many lenders will not mortgage it, and those who can buy will factor the cost of extension into their offer. The reduction in asking price is typically greater than the cost of the extension. Selling with a short lease and letting the buyer deal with it means you bear the discount without receiving the benefit of the extension. There is also a practical advantage: you have owned the property for at least two years (under the current rules) and can exercise statutory rights; a new buyer must wait two years before they can do the same, unless the 2024 Act provisions are in force. Extending before marketing is usually the right call.

The 2024 Act makes several significant changes, but so far only one of the main lease-extension reforms is in force. In force now: the two-year ownership requirement was abolished on 31 January 2025, so leaseholders can extend from the day they complete their purchase. Not yet in force: the increase in the standard extension term to 990 years; the abolition of marriage value; and the reformed valuation methodology intended to make premiums more predictable. The legal challenge brought by a group of freeholders to the marriage value reform was dismissed by the High Court in October 2025, but the outstanding changes still require secondary legislation, and in some cases further primary legislation. Implementation is being taken forward on a phased basis over several years, and in January 2026 the government published a draft Bill carrying the reforms forward. There is no confirmed date for the major valuation changes, so the current rules continue to apply to any extension now. We will advise you on the position as it stands.

An informal lease extension is one negotiated directly with the freeholder, outside the statutory process. It can be quicker and more flexible — the parties can agree on any terms they choose, including a longer extension than the statutory 90 years. However, it also carries risks: without the statutory framework, the freeholder is under no obligation to agree or to offer reasonable terms, and there are no tribunal rights if negotiations break down. The freeholder may also use the opportunity to introduce less favourable terms into the new lease. An informal extension can be a good option where the freeholder is cooperative and both parties want a swift resolution — but having a solicitor and valuer negotiate on your behalf is just as important as in the statutory route.

Marriage value is the increase in the combined value of the leasehold and freehold interests that results from merging them — in other words, the extra value created by extending the lease. Under the current statutory regime, marriage value becomes payable once a lease falls below 80 years, and the freeholder is entitled to 50% of it. This can add very significantly to the premium: on a valuable property with a short lease, marriage value can exceed the basic premium calculated on ground rent and term alone. The financial difference between extending at 81 years and at 79 years can be substantial. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 provides for marriage value to be abolished, but that change is not yet in force, and implementation is being taken forward on a phased basis over several years with no confirmed date. The 80-year threshold therefore remains critical for now, and a lease approaching 80 years should not be left in the hope that abolition arrives in time.

The statutory process begins with your solicitor serving a formal notice — called a Section 42 notice — on the freeholder, specifying the proposed premium and the terms of the new lease. The freeholder then has two months to serve a counter-notice, either accepting your terms or proposing different ones. If the parties cannot agree on the premium, either can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England, or the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal in Wales, to determine the amount. Most cases settle by negotiation before reaching tribunal. Once the premium and terms are agreed, the new lease is drafted and completed. The whole process typically takes six to twelve months. Instructing a specialist valuer as well as a solicitor is essential — the valuation negotiation is as important as the legal process.

Most long leaseholders of flats have a statutory right to extend their lease under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. To qualify, you must be a long leaseholder — holding a lease originally granted for more than 21 years. Previously, you also needed to have owned the property for at least two years, but the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 removed this requirement once the relevant provisions come into force. The statutory route gives you the right to extend regardless of whether the freeholder agrees — the freeholder cannot refuse. House leaseholders have separate rights under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. The statutory route provides important protections on price and terms that an informal extension does not.

Lease length affects the value and mortgageability of a leasehold property. As a lease shortens, its value declines — and below certain thresholds, it becomes difficult or impossible to sell or mortgage. Most lenders require a minimum of 70 to 85 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term; many will not lend at all on leases below 70 years. The critical threshold is 80 years: once a lease falls below this point, the cost of extending increases significantly because marriage value becomes payable to the freeholder. Extending before the lease reaches 80 years is almost always considerably cheaper than extending afterwards. If your lease has fewer than 90 years remaining, you should take advice now — not when you come to sell.