Lease length checker
What the years left on a lease mean for cost, mortgages and resale.
The key threshold is 80 years: below it, the landlord is entitled to a share of the value an extension adds (“marriage value” under current rules), so the same extension costs substantially more at 79 years than at 81.
Purely indicative — no premium estimates here, because leasehold reform (including marriage-value rules) is still in flux. Always get a specialist valuation before extending or offering.
A lease is a wasting asset: the fewer years remain, the less the flat is worth and the more it costs to fix. The bands are well established. Above 90–100 years, no action needed soon. At 80–90 years, plan an extension — you are approaching the cliff. Below 80 years, the historic rules add “marriage value” to the premium, making extensions sharply more expensive, and value visibly erodes. Below 70, many mortgage lenders decline or restrict (most want a meaningful margin of lease beyond the mortgage term), shrinking the buyer pool towards cash. Below 60, the flat is a specialist purchase.
The law is mid-reform, which matters to timing. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 abolishes marriage value and the two-year ownership wait, moves to 990-year extensions, and is intended to cut premiums for short leases — but its valuation provisions were not yet in force as of mid-2026, so extensions still complete under the old regime while the detail is consulted on and litigated. A seller’s “the new law will make it cheap” and an agent’s “it’s only paperwork” are both doing a lot of work; the honest position is that short leases carry legal-timing risk in both directions.
Practically, for buyers: get the exact remaining term from the lease itself (not the listing — they are frequently wrong), and price the extension into your offer using a surveyor’s estimate if the lease is under about 90 years. A flat at 78 years is not comparable to the identical flat at 125; the difference is a real number, often tens of thousands of pounds once premium and professional fees are counted. And check ground rent while you are there — onerous ground rent terms affect both mortgageability and the extension premium. Lease length is the one page of a leasehold purchase you cannot skim.
Common questions
Why does 80 years matter so much on a lease?
Under the rules still in effect, once a lease drops below 80 years the landlord is entitled to half the “marriage value” — the uplift the extension itself creates — which can add thousands or tens of thousands to the premium. The 2024 reform Act abolishes marriage value, but the valuation provisions were not yet in force as of mid-2026, so the 80-year line still bites today.
Can I get a mortgage on a short lease?
It gets progressively harder below about 80 years and difficult below 70: lenders typically require a minimum unexpired term at application plus a margin beyond the mortgage end (criteria vary by lender). Fewer willing lenders means worse rates for you and, crucially, for whoever buys from you later.
How much does a lease extension cost?
It scales with the flat’s value, the years remaining and the ground rent — as rough shape: extending a mid-value flat with 85 years left might cost a few thousand pounds plus £3,000–£5,000 of professional fees for both sides, while the same flat at 70 years can cost several times that under current marriage-value rules. Get a specialist surveyor’s estimate before offering on anything under 90 years.
Should I buy a flat with a short lease at a discount?
Only with the full sum done: discount versus (extension premium + both sides’ fees + the wait — although the 2024 Act has removed the old two-year ownership requirement) — and financing that works meanwhile. It can genuinely pay, especially if reform eventually cuts premiums. It can also strand you if lending tightens or the reform timetable slips. Price the risk, not the story.
Numbers are half the story. Check the home itself.
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