How do I extend the lease on my flat?
The statutory route and the informal route, why eighty years is the number everyone talks about, and what to establish before you start. Written without a single figure, because the valuation rules are mid-reform.
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Time
- 16 min
- Read
- 6 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
There are two routes. The statutory route gives a qualifying leaseholder the right to a new lease at a premium determined by a formula, with a formal notice, a counter-notice and a tribunal if the price is not agreed. The informal route is simply a negotiation with the freeholder, which is quicker and cheaper but comes with no statutory protections. Get a valuation first, and take advice before serving anything.
A lease is a wasting asset, and the two things that matter are how many years are left and how fast the cost of putting that right is rising. Below around eighty years remaining the premium increases sharply, because an additional element becomes payable to the landlord, and lenders become markedly more cautious. That is why the eighty-year mark dominates every conversation about lease extensions, and why the worst thing to do is nothing.
Safety
Step by step
- Find the exact unexpired term.Count from the lease's original start date, not from when you bought. The term and the start date are in the lease and on the title register. Work it out precisely — a year either side of a threshold changes the position materially.
- Understand why eighty years matters.Once the unexpired term falls below about eighty years, an additional element enters the valuation and the premium rises steeply. Reform to remove that element has been legislated for but has not been brought into force, so it remains payable. Below eighty years, delay is expensive.
- Check whether you qualify for the statutory route.The statutory right applies to a qualifying leaseholder of a flat held on a long lease. The requirement to have owned the flat for two years before claiming has been removed. Other conditions still apply, so have your eligibility confirmed rather than assumed.
- Get a valuation before doing anything else.Instruct a valuer who does leasehold extension work specifically. The valuation is the whole of the negotiation and it also tells you whether the informal route being offered is good value. This is not a job for an estate agent's appraisal.
- Compare the two routes honestly.The statutory route gives a defined term extension, a peppercorn ground rent, a tribunal to decide the price and a protected process — but you pay the landlord's reasonable costs and it takes months. The informal route can be quicker and cheaper and gives none of those protections, and the landlord can walk away at any point.
- Read an informal offer very carefully.Informal extensions sometimes add fewer years than the statutory route, keep or reintroduce a ground rent, or change other lease terms. A shorter extension with a rising ground rent can be worse than no extension at all. Have a solicitor read it before you agree.
- For the statutory route, expect the notice sequence.You serve a formal notice on the landlord stating your proposed premium; they serve a counter-notice by a deadline; the parties negotiate; and if the price is not agreed, either can apply to the First-tier Tribunal within a defined window. Missing a deadline can end the claim.
- Budget for the costs, not just the premium.Your own solicitor and valuer, and the landlord's reasonable costs, which under the statutory route you generally pay. Reform to cap those costs has been consulted on and is not in force. Ask both professionals for a written estimate at the outset.
- Deal with an absent landlord through the court.Where the freeholder cannot be traced, there is a route through the court for an order allowing the extension to proceed without them. It is slower and it works, and it is a specialist job.
- Consider the alternatives before committing.Buying the freehold collectively with the other flat owners removes the problem permanently rather than deferring it, and the Right to Manage deals with management without touching the lease length. Which is right depends on your neighbours and your building.
- Check the current law before you serve anything.The Leasehold Advisory Service is free, government funded and publishes the position as it currently stands. Given that reform is part commenced, that check is not optional.
Tips
- Work out the exact unexpired term today and write it down. It is the single number that drives everything.
- Instruct a valuer who does lease extensions specifically. General residential valuers are not the same thing.
- Check the Leasehold Advisory Service before serving any notice. Reform is partly commenced and the position genuinely moves.
Common mistakes
- Waiting because the cost seems high — The premium rises as the term shortens, and it rises fastest once the additional element applies. Waiting is a decision to pay more.
- Accepting an informal offer without a valuation — There is nothing to compare it to. The valuation is what tells you whether the offer is generous, ordinary or poor.
If it doesn't work
The freeholder has offered an informal extension that looks cheap
Cause: Fewer years added, or a ground rent retained or increased — Fix: Compare it against a statutory valuation before agreeing. An offer that looks cheaper often adds fewer years or keeps a rising ground rent, which is worth more to the landlord than the discount is to you.
Your lease is just above eighty years
Cause: The point at which the premium is about to rise steeply — Fix: Get a valuation now. This is the one situation where a delay of a year has a direct, quantifiable cost, and reform to remove that additional element is not yet in force.
You cannot find the freeholder
Cause: An absent or dissolved landlord — Fix: Check the title register for the freehold title and any company at Companies House. Where the landlord genuinely cannot be traced, a solicitor can apply to the court for an order allowing the extension to proceed.
Questions people ask
How much will it cost?
There is deliberately no figure here. The premium depends on the unexpired term, the ground rent, the value of the flat and valuation assumptions that are currently being reformed. A valuer who does this work will give you a range, and the Leasehold Advisory Service will tell you what rules currently apply.
Can my landlord refuse?
Under the statutory route, a qualifying leaseholder has a right rather than a request, though the landlord can dispute the price and, in narrow circumstances, the claim itself. Under the informal route they can refuse, and can withdraw at any point.
Should I extend before selling?
A short lease reduces the pool of buyers and the price, and below the mortgage-friendly range it can remove mortgage buyers entirely. Some sellers extend first; others serve the statutory notice and assign the benefit of the claim to the buyer. Take advice on which suits your sale.
Does this apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. This is England and Wales. Scotland does not use residential leasehold in this form. Northern Ireland has its own leasehold legislation including a ground rent redemption scheme, and needs Northern Ireland advice.
What about a leasehold house?
Leaseholders of houses have their own statutory rights, including a right to buy the freehold, under different provisions. The principles are similar and the mechanics are not.