In this article
A flat’s lease length is one of the biggest things buyers overlook, and one of the most expensive to get wrong. Whether you should buy a flat with a short lease depends on the exact number of years left, whether the cost of extending has been reflected in the price, and your plans for the property. Below 80 years, the sums change sharply, and the reforms meant to fix that have stalled. Here is what a short lease really means before you commit.
Should you buy a flat with a short lease?
It can still be a sound purchase, but only with your eyes open. A lease comfortably above 90 years is rarely a concern. Between 80 and 90 years, you should be planning to extend before it becomes urgent. Below 80 years, the cost of extending rises steeply, lenders become reluctant, and the pool of future buyers shrinks. A short-lease flat is not automatically a bad buy, but the price needs to reflect the cost of putting the lease right, and you need to know that number before you exchange.
Why 80 years is the number that matters
The figure everyone fixates on is 80 years, and for good reason. Once a lease drops below 80 years, an extra cost called “marriage value” becomes payable to the freeholder when you extend. That single threshold can add thousands to the cost of an extension.
One detail catches people out: marriage value does not wait until 80 years exactly. It applies the moment the lease falls below 80, in practice, at 79 years and 364 days. If your lease is hovering just above the line, the timing of an extension is genuinely urgent, not something to leave until next year.
What is marriage value, in plain terms?
When you extend a short lease, the flat becomes more valuable, a flat with a long lease is worth more than the same flat with a short one. That uplift in value is the “marriage value”. Under the current rules, if your lease is below 80 years, you must hand half of that uplift to the freeholder as part of the extension premium. Above 80 years, no marriage value is payable, which is why extending before the lease drops below 80 is almost always far cheaper than waiting until after.
The lender problem: short leases and mortgages
Mortgage lenders care about lease length because the property is their security. Most require a minimum term remaining, commonly 70 to 85 years at the end of the mortgage, and many will not lend at all below 70 years. The practical effects are twofold. First, a short lease can make a flat difficult for you to buy with a mortgage now. Second, and just as important, it will narrow the field of buyers who can purchase from you when you come to sell. A flat you can only sell to cash buyers is a flat that sells slowly and for less.
“Should I wait for leasehold reform?”, the honest 2026 answer
This is the question behind almost every short-lease dilemma, and the honest answer as of mid-2026 is that waiting is now a real gamble.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 promised to abolish marriage value, introduce 990-year extensions, and cut the cost of extending. It received Royal Assent in May 2024, and when a group of freeholders challenged it, the High Court dismissed that challenge in October 2025. So far, so encouraging for leaseholders. But here is the catch: those headline changes are still not in force. They need detailed secondary legislation and valuation regulations that have not been made.
In January 2026, the government published a separate draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill and signalled that it may not use the 2024 Act to deliver these changes after all. Realistically, the reforms leaseholders have been waiting for are unlikely to take effect before 2027 or 2028, and a further appeal by freeholders could push that back again. There are no guarantees they will arrive in their current form at all.
What that means in practice: if your lease is near or below 80 years, every month you wait for reform makes a statutory extension more expensive under the rules that actually apply today. Waiting in the hope of a cheaper future is a bet on a timetable nobody can promise.
What a lease extension actually costs and how it works
Under the current statutory route, extending adds 90 years to your remaining lease and reduces the ground rent to a peppercorn (zero). The premium you pay the freeholder depends on the lease length, the ground rent, the property value, and, below 80 years, marriage value. The process starts with a formal notice to the freeholder and usually takes six to twelve months. The cost varies widely from flat to flat, so a professional valuation is essential before you commit. We explain the full process and what drives the premium on our lease extensions page.
Buying a short-lease flat: how to protect yourself
If you have found a flat you want despite a short lease, a few steps protect you:
- Get a lease-extension valuation before you exchange, so you know the real cost of putting the lease right and can factor it into your offer.
- Ask the seller to start the extension before completion. A seller who has owned the flat can serve the statutory notice and assign the benefit of it to you on completion, so you can complete the extension without waiting. This is a common and sensible arrangement.
- Negotiate on price. If the lease is short, the cost of extending is effectively part of the purchase price, and a well-advised buyer reflects that in what they offer.
- Check the ground rent terms, not just the lease length. An escalating ground rent can cause its own mortgage and resale problems.
Our guide to how long conveyancing takes explains why leasehold purchases, in particular, can run longer than freehold ones.
How we help
Our leasehold conveyancing team acts for flat buyers and sellers across South Wales and the South West. We check the lease properly before you commit, explain in plain English what a short lease will cost you, and handle statutory extensions from start to finish. For independent guidance on the rules, the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) is an excellent free resource. To talk through a specific flat, request a callback and we will come back to you.
A note on figures: the fees and figures in this article are correct as at the date of publication shown on this article. Court fees, taxes and other charges change from time to time, so please check the current figures with the relevant official source before relying on them.
Frequently asked questions
Is marriage value abolished yet?
Not yet. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 provides for abolishing it, and the High Court rejected a challenge in October 2025, but the change is still not in force as of mid-2026 and may not take effect until 2027 or 2028. For now, marriage value still applies to leases below 80 years.
Can I get a mortgage on a flat with a short lease?
It depends on the lender and the number of years left. Most lenders want at least 70 to 85 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term, and many will not lend below 70 years. A short lease can limit both your choice of lender now and your pool of buyers later.
Should I ask the seller to extend the lease before I buy?
It is often the best approach. A seller who qualifies can serve the statutory notice and assign the benefit of it to you on completion, so you can complete the extension without having to wait. It is a common arrangement worth raising early.
Does marriage value apply at exactly 80 years?
No - it applies once the lease falls below 80 years, in practice at 79 years and 364 days. If your lease is just above 80, extending promptly can save a significant sum.