How long is left on the lease, what will it cost to extend, and does that change what you should offer? An 82-year lease and a 78-year lease are very different purchases — and most buyers don't find out why until it's too late.
80 years is the number that matters
The Lease
On the listing, or ask the agent
The price you'd pay
£ per year, currently
The lease keeps shortening while you own it. If you buy at 85 years and stay 10, you'll be selling an unextended 75-year lease.
What The 80-Year Cliff Is
Marriage value
Once a lease drops below 80 years, the premium to extend it includes an extra element called marriage value — broadly, half the increase in the flat's value created by extending. It can add many thousands overnight. Above 80 years it does not apply at all. That's why the cliff is real and why the exact number of years matters so much.
Hasn't that been abolished?
This is where a lot of advice online is wrong. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 does abolish marriage value — but that provision is not yet in force. It can't commence until secondary legislation sets new valuation rates, and that consultation still hadn't launched by mid-2026. Realistic expectations are 2027–28 at the earliest, and there is ongoing litigation from freeholders. Marriage value is still payable today. Plan on the law as it is, not as it may become.
Lease health
Status
Healthy
Below the 80-year threshold
Indicative cost to extend
Estimated premium
£8,000
plus costs
A rough indication only, for budgeting and negotiation. Real premiums depend on the specific lease, ground rent terms, location and valuation rates, and are settled by a specialist valuer or tribunal. Never rely on this figure to make an offer — get a formal valuation.
Your ground rent is a problem in itself
What to do
Before you offer
In plain English
The honest bit
A short lease is not automatically a bad buy — it's a negotiation point. If the price already reflects the lease, you may be getting fair value. The mistake is paying a long-lease price for a short-lease flat, then discovering the extension cost afterwards. You can serve notice to extend as soon as you complete; the old two-year ownership wait was removed in 2025.
Send this to yourself
Your numbers and the questions to ask.
General guidance only, not legal or valuation advice. Lease extension is a technical area — always instruct a solicitor and a specialist valuer before committing.