Extending your UK Lease in 2026

Costs, Process & the Real Impact: The UK’s Freehold Reform Act 2024

Getting a lease extension is perhaps the most important financial decision a flat owner or house leaseholder will ever make. You need to get it right to protect your property’s value, your ability to remortgage and your long-term security. But get it wrong or leave it too late and costs can spiral up by tens of thousands of pounds.

This guide takes a look at what the lease extension process will look like in September 2026, what the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 has actually delivered in real terms, and what’s still stuck in a state of limbo.

Key Takeaways

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 has had Royal Assent since May 2024, but the headline reforms that everyone’s been holding their breath for – a basic 990-year extension, abolition of marriage value and capped ground rent in valuations – don’t actually kick in yet as of September 2026. Most lease extensions are still done the old-fashioned way.
Leaseholders can extend their lease either by going down the formal statutory route under existing law, or they can try to negotiate an informal lease extension deal with the freeholder. Holding out for reforms may save some people money, but timing-wise it’s anyone’s guess – earliest we can expect is 2027, and that’s being optimistic.
The costs go up steeply when a lease drops below 80 years because that’s when marriage value comes into play – a significant amount that can add thousands to the premium. And properties with less than 60 years left on the clock are virtually unmortgageable. So, if your lease is near those thresholds, delaying is a seriously risky move.
Extending a lease can cost anywhere from a few thousand quid right up to well over £10,000, depending on the property’s value, how many years are left, and the ground rent. And when it comes to professional fees for lease extensions, it’s best to budget at least £2,000 to £4,000 on top of the premium.
If you want a rough idea of what you’re looking at, you could try using an online lease extension calculator ( like the one at https://extension.lease/lease-extension-calculator ), but the best thing to do is still get a proper valuation and get some professional advice before making any decisions.

2026 Reform Update: What’s Really Changed (And What Isn’t)

So, it’s been two years since the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act became law back in May 2024. The media coverage was all over the place, and understandably a lot of people thought that cheaper, longer lease extensions were just around the corner. But the reality is rather more complicated than that.

The Act does need secondary legislation to be passed – that’s regulations on valuation, deferment and capitalisation rates – before most of its cost-related provisions can actually take effect. The Government published a draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill back in January 2026 to sort out the technical drafting errors in the 2024 Act that have been holding things up. And right now there’s a consultation on valuation rates that’s running from 15 July 2026 to 23 September 2026. Still, we’re not going to see any major changes to leasehold extensions until 2027 at the earliest, and maybe even later.

All the hype about 990-year lease extensions and scrapping of marriage value is still just that – hype. In 2026, most leaseholders are still doing their extensions under the 1993 Act regime: getting an extra 90 years for a flat, 50 years for a house, marriage value if the term is below 80 years, and the full capitalisation of ground rent. The Government is proposing to cap ground rent at £250 per year for existing leases, moving on to a peppercorn after 40 years – but that’s still not the law.

Some procedural changes are already up and running and can be relied on right now:

Two-year ownership rule abolished (31 January 2025): leaseholders can start a statutory lease extension as soon as their purchase is registered on the HM Land Registry.
Right to Manage improvements (3 March 2025): buildings with up to 50% non-residential space can go for it now (previously 25%), and leaseholders no longer have to foot the freeholder’s legal costs for RTM claims in most cases.
Assured tenancy fix (27 December 2025): long leases over 21 years no longer automatically count as assured tenancies, which removes a legal obstacle in some finance and sale transactions.

If you’re thinking of extending your lease now or waiting for the reforms to kick in, do yourself a favour and get the latest lowdown from the House of Commons Library briefing on leasehold reform, or from a specialist solicitor.

Why Leases Need Extending (And What Happens When a Lease Expires)

The thing about leasehold ownership is that it’s time-limited. You’ve got a right to occupy the property for a set number of years. When the lease runs out, that right goes away and the property reverts to the freeholder. Any equity you’ve built up can effectively be wiped out – talk about a nasty shock.Take a concrete example, a flat granted a 99 year lease on the 1st of January 1995 will expire on the 31st of December 2093. By September 2026, that flat still has 67 years left to run on the lease. That flat is now tricky to get a mortgage on and is likely to be worth less than a similar property with a longer lease.

Mortgage lenders often want to see at least 85 years left on the lease at the end of the mortgage term. That means that for a 25 year mortgage taken out today, the property will need to have around 110 years left on the lease. Properties with leases of less than 80 years can still be mortgaged, but they start to cause problems for lenders, and those with less than 60 years left are nearly impossible to lend on. Leases of less than 80 years can knock a load off the value of the property because potential buyers face a big extension bill and mortgage difficulties.

Extending a residential lease can give tenants a great deal of peace of mind, and provide long-term security for them. Most leases in England and Wales are extended long before they expire, precisely because of the problems they cause.

Key reasons to act:

Marketability: a short lease is a real turn off for buyers and will reduce sale prices in the local property market.
Remortgage barriers: lenders may refuse to lend at all, or give leaseholders a poor deal on a leasehold property with limited years left on it.
Escalating costs: the cost of extending a lease increases as the lease gets shorter, with a big jump in price below 80 years.
Loss of the asset: if the lease expires without being extended, the leaseholder loses both the property and any equity they have built up.

Understanding Ground Rent and It’s Impact on Lease Extension Costs

Ground rent is the annual charge that the leaseholder pays to the freeholder as per the terms of the lease agreement. These charges vary wildly. Some existing leases set a fixed annual ground rent of £50 – or even nothing at all (a peppercorn). Others have clauses that double the rent every 10, 15 or 25 years, or link it to the Retail Prices Index.

These “onerous” ground rent clauses have a big impact on the lease extension cost. When a surveyor calculates the premium payable for a lease extension, they work out the present value of all the future ground rent payments the freeholder will lose. A flat that pays £350 a year in ground rent that doubles every 25 years will generate a much bigger capitalised figure than a flat that pays a fixed £50.

For leases of less than 80 years, valuation gets a bit more complicated: marriage value comes into play. Marriage value is the increase in property value that results from the lease extension itself. Under current law, freeholders get a 50% share of this marriage value. Marriage value applies to leases that have less than 80 years left on them, and it can add thousands of pounds to the premium.

Recent changes to the law are aimed at reducing the ground rent during lease extensions to a peppercorn, and capping the ground rent figure used in valuation calculations at 0.1% of freehold value. Market rent will likely be adjusted to the open market value during lease extensions under the new rules. But these caps arent yet live – at the time of writing they are still a way off being implemented.

A simple comparison shows the difference:

Flat A: £300,000 value, 78 years left on it, £0 ground rent. Premium estimate: roughly £8,000-£12,000 (including marriage value).
Flat B: £300,000 value, 78 years left on it, £350 ground rent that doubles every 25 years. Premium estimate: roughly £18,000-£28,000 (including marriage value and capitalised ground rent).

Leaseholders with high ground rent may benefit more from waiting for the reforms to come in, but only if their lease length allows them to – if the lease drops below 80 years while they are waiting, the marriage value component grows.

Freehold Reform Act 2024: What It Means for Extending a Lease

The stated aims of the Freehold Reform Act 2024 are to make lease extensions cheaper and simpler, with fairer treatment of leaseholders and stronger legal protection for them during the extension process and valuation disputes. Once it is fully up and running, the Act will:

Give individuals a statutory right to extend their lease by 990 years – that means lease holders will be able to extend their lease by 990 years under the new rules.
Bring ground rent down to zero upon lease extension – a peppercorn rent.
Abolish marriage value for leases under 80 years. Removing marriage value is part of the Leasehold Reform Act 2024.
Make each party pay their own legal costs, rather than making the leaseholder pick up the freeholder’s costs as well.
Cap the ground rent used in valuation at 0.1% of freehold value, reducing premiums for leaseholders with onerous rent clauses.Transitional plans are expected to keep existing 90-year extensions under the 1993 Act ticking over until the 990-year regime is fully up and running. The Leasehold Reform Act lets people extend their leases in future to 990 years, but the relevant rules and bits of legislation that need to be in place still haven’t been finalised.

In real terms come 2026, conveyancers and valuers will still be working under the old rules, while buyers and sellers would do well to assume that 990-year leases or lower premiums aren’t likely to be part of any current negotiations they might be having. Any claim started now will go ahead under the 1993 Act for flats, where a lease extension adds 90 years to the remaining lease term and knocks ground rent down to zero.

Should You Extend Your Lease Now or Wait for the Reforms?

That’s the question most leaseholders are asking themselves right now. The answer, though, will depend on how many years you’ve got left, what your ground rent is, and what you’re planning on doing over the next couple of years.

When it might be best to wait:

You’ve got a lease with 82-90 years left to run – that keeps you above the 80-year mark for marriage value for now, which is a good thing.
You’re paying high ground rent that would get treated a bit more favourably under the new valuation rules.
You’ve got no plans to sell up or remortgage within the next 12-24 months.
You’re willing to put up with the uncertainty of not really knowing when the reforms will finally arrive – it could be 2027 or later.

When it’s probably better to get it done now:

Your lease is coming up to or under 80 years. Marriage value does all sorts of nasty things under 80 years, and every year that goes by makes it worse.
You’ve got plans to sell up within the next 12-24 months. Potential buyers will either knock the price down or walk away altogether if your lease is too short.
You’re in a situation where you need to remortgage soon and your lender is going to want a lease with a lot more years left on it.
If your lease is under 80 years, it can get pretty complicated when you’re looking for a mortgage, limiting your options.

Take a look at a specific scenario: a flat with a 78-year lease on it, worth £250,000 in Manchester, with an annual ground rent of £250. Under the current rules, you’d already be paying marriage value. Every year that goes by is going to increase the costs of a lease extension, and if you wait another couple of years to take advantage of the new rules when they arrive in 2027 and sort out marriage value for good – you’re going to be losing years off the lease and risking missing your window to sell. Even with a saving if the reforms do turn up a bit sooner, you’d need to balance that against two years of extra lease depreciation and the risk of not being able to sell your place.

Get some professional advice from a lease extension solicitor and use a tool like a lease extension calculator (like the one on http://extension.lease) to model out what would happen if you extend now, and what would happen if you wait before making a decision.

Who Can Extend Their Lease And When?

For flats, the rules are as follows:

You’re the owner of a long lease that was originally granted for more than 21 years.
The property isn’t being used as a business.
Your name is down at HM Land Registry as the leaseholder.

Thanks to a change in the law since January 2025, most leaseholders can now start the lease extension process as soon as they’ve got their purchase registered – without needing to own the property for two years.

But it’s not all simple – there are a few things to bear in mind:

Leaseholders with shared ownership might need to stair-step up to 100% ownership before they can make a statutory claim.
Leases owned by the Crown Estate, National Trust or certain charitable housing trusts might be exempt.
Very short headleases or commercial arrangements will have completely different rules. Leases might fall inside or outside the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 in the UK, which deals with commercial tenancies rather than residential ones.

Houses are a bit different: the statutory lease extension for houses has historically only been possible for 50 years, and many house owners will opt to buy the freehold rather than try to extend. Leaseholders can still extend their leases by 90 years using the current flat regime.

Quick eligibility checklist:

Is your lease long (21+ years when it was first granted)?
Is your name down at Land Registry as the leaseholder?
Is the property used for residential purposes?
Is your lease not owned by the Crown or one of those charitable trusts?

If you can tick all four of these boxes, you’re likely eligible for a statutory lease extension.

Formal Route vs Informal Route: Two Ways to Get a Longer Lease

There are two paths to getting a longer lease. The formal route is the statutory process under the leasehold reform legislation. The informal route is a good old-fashioned deal with the freeholder, outside the rules for statutory extensions.

Formal Route to Extending Your Lease gives qualifying leaseholders a solid legal footing to extend their lease. When it comes to flats, the law offers an extra 90 years on top of the time already left on the lease, with ground rent reduced to a peppercorn – that’s much less of a burden. It all happens under a set schedule. If you and your freeholder can’t agree on a price, disputes are sent to the First-tier Tribunal to sort out fairly. Knowing these rights gives you some serious negotiating power with the freeholder because they know that if you can’t agree, a tribunal will have the final say. If you want to get to grips with all this, the Leasehold Advisory Service is available to give free advice on statutory rights, enfranchisement and lease extension problems – they’re a leasehold advisory service.

The Informal Route gives you a bit more room for manoeuvre but also carries more risk. Your freeholder can offer you fewer extra years, up the ground rent, or introduce new terms like consent fees for changes to the property, subletting, or selling. When negotiating your lease, you’ll be talking about key things like rent, lease length, and who’s responsible for repairs. The freeholder will check whether they trust you to pay your rent on time and whether they think the rent is reasonable. In this situation, you have to be careful not to over-extend yourself – flexibility goes both ways. There is also the risk that you might not be clear on whether you’re getting a new lease or an extension, which can make a big difference to what you’re offered. It’s a good idea to compare the old lease with the proposed one so you know exactly what you’re getting.

A lot of lenders will be very cautious about informal lease extensions that leave the ground rent in place or introduce tricky rent-review clauses – it can cause problems when you try to sell or remortgage, even if the headline cost seems lower.

When it comes to commercial property, the situation is rather different. Extending the lease on a commercial property means signing a new renewal or replacement lease. For UK tenants who have a lease covered by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, they might need to send the freeholder a Section 26 request for a new tenancy, while the landlord must let the tenant know in writing that they’re willing to grant a new lease under a Section 25 notice. Tenants need to check their current leases for renewal options and notice periods. This guide is all about residential lease extension, but if you have a mixed-use property you should definitely get some specialist advice.

Before you go down the informal route you should get any offer reviewed by a specialist solicitor and surveyor to make sure what seems like a good deal at first glance doesn’t actually end up costing you more than the formal route.

Step-by-Step: Extending Your Lease via the Formal Route in 2026

The core steps involved in a statutory lease extension haven’t changed much yet in 2026, pending the new 990-year rules starting to apply. Getting a chartered surveyor on board early really helps you figure out a realistic starting point for your negotiations. There are strict deadlines to keep to once you’ve served formal notices.

Get yourself a specialist lease extension solicitor who regularly deals with leasehold extension legislation.
Get a surveyor on board to give you a proper valuation of the premium you’ll have to pay – they’ll look at things like the value of your property, how much time is left on the lease and the current ground rent.
Go over the valuation advice and agree on your opening bid with the surveyor.
Serve your notice (a section 42 notice for flats) on the freeholder, saying what you’re offering and what you want – this “freezes” the valuation date so that any lease time ticking down after you serve the notice won’t affect the price you pay.
Pay the statutory deposit, which is usually 10% of the proposed premium or £250 – whichever is highest.
Wait for the landlord’s response – they have two months to get back to you. If they don’t, you can take things further by applying for a vesting order.
Get to work on agreeing price and terms – if you can’t agree, you can apply to a tribunal for a binding decision. The First-tier Tribunal’s not going to take kindly to you trying to avoid a decision.
Get the new lease signed off and registered with the Land Registry.

Important deadlines to keep in mind: if the freeholder doesn’t respond in time, you can take the matter to the county court. If you and the landlord can’t agree on terms within six months of the notice being served, either side can send the dispute to the tribunal for resolution. There’s also a final date for completion, usually six months after you’ve agreed on the terms.

Costs of Extending a Lease in 2026

It’s hard to put a price on it, because it depends on loads of different things like what your property is worth, how much time is left on the lease, the ground rent and local market conditions. Extending a lease can cost anywhere from a few thousand to well over £10,000.

To give you a rough idea, extending an 82-year lease on a £300,000 flat in Leeds with a £150 ground rent might cost you around £10-15,000 as a premium, plus another £3,000 to £5,000 or so for the combined fees of the tenant’s and landlord’s lawyers and surveyors.

Once the lease drops below 80 years, marriage value comes into play – this is the increase in value of the property as a result of the extension itself. If you’re in London, crossing the 80-year mark can add £20,000 or more to the premium. The cost of extending a lease just goes up and up as the time left on the lease gets shorter – so it’s usually a lot cheaper to sort it out sooner rather than later. Use the extension.lease lease extension calculator to get a rough idea of the costs involved. These online tools require details such as the property value, years left on the lease and ground rent, and they give you an estimated range of what to expect. But a surveyor’s valuation is crucial before committing to a figure, as they work under standardised assumptions that might not reflect your specific situation at all.

Other Fees & Hidden Costs to Keep an Eye Out For

The premium is only one part of the whole bill though. There are other potential hidden costs for lease extensions such as professional fees and taxes that can add a fair bit to the final total.

Common additional expenses to consider:

Surveyor fees: £500 to £1,200+ depending on the location, type of property and how complicated things get.
Your solicitor’s legal fees: usually in the range of £1,500 – £3,000.
Freeholder’s reasonable legal and valuation costs – which you’ll still have to pay under the current rules (this changes only once the reforms kick in). Professional fees for lease extension typically range from £2,000 to £4,000 across both sides.
Land Registry fee: normally £100-£500 depending on the size of the premium.
Notice fees charged by the managing agent: some agents charge £200-£500 just for providing the information pack.
Lender consent fees: if you have a mortgage, your lender may charge £100-£300 to consent to the lease variation.

Tax-wise, Stamp Duty Land Tax usually doesn’t apply where the premium is below the SDLT threshold and the property is your main home. Higher-value London flats can sometimes trigger SDLT.

Tenants may face dilapidation liabilities before entering a new term in some cases, particularly where the existing lease contains repairing obligations that have not been met.

In informal lease extensions, be aware of non-refundable “quote” fees, legal costs for drafting new lease agreements and new clauses that bump up service charges or consent fees over time.

Get a written estimate from your solicitor and your surveyor for all professional and landlord-side costs upfront. Ask them to compare costs for both the formal and informal routes before you commit.

What if I Can’t Agree a Price or Can’t Find the Freeholder?

Disputes over price and missing landlords are common sticking points in lease extensions, but there are legal solutions available for both.

Price disputes:

Negotiation can get complicated and lead to disputes over lease extension costs and terms. If negotiations deadlock after the counter-notice, either party can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to sort things out.
The tribunal determines the premium and key terms. This adds time (typically 3-6 months) and extra professional fees, but provides a binding outcome based on valuation evidence from both sides.
Good advice from a specialist solicitor and a valuation surveyor who’s familiar with tribunal cases will improve your chances of a good outcome.

Missing freeholders:

The leaseholder’s solicitor can investigate via Land Registry, Companies House and tracing agents.
If the freeholder cannot be located after making reasonable efforts (writing, advertising, searching), the leaseholder can apply to the county court for a vesting order.
A vesting order allows the lease to be extended without the landlord’s active involvement. The premium is paid into court.
Courts expect evidence of genuine search efforts before agreeing to these orders. The process usually takes 3-6 months.

Using a Lease Extension Calculator & Other Online Tools

A lease extension calculator takes in inputs like property value, years left on the lease and ground rent, and spits out an estimated premium range. It gives you a sense of whether you are looking at thousands or tens of thousands of pounds before even talking to professionals.
Sites such as https://extension.lease provide free calculators for flat owners and house leaseholders.
Online tools rely on assumptions about interest rates, yields and marriage value, so their figures are only an approximation. They can’t replace a surveyor’s tailored valuation for negotiation or tribunal purposes.
Calculators are useful for “what if?” comparisons, eg modelling the cost at 83 years now versus the cost at 79 years if you wait another 3 years. This helps you understand the trade off between waiting for reforms and the lease term shortening.
Check how any website stores and processes the information you input. Reputable services will have a clear privacy policy.

Buying the Freehold Instead of Extending the Lease

If you own a leasehold house, buying the freehold is often more attractive than a 50-year lease extension. Owning the freehold gives you complete control over the property, removes ground rent permanently, and eliminates the need for future extensions. Extending a lease can provide long-term security for tenants, but freehold ownership provides permanent security.For flat owners, buying a share of freehold with its neighbours can be an awfully attractive alternative – especially if you’re considering collective enfranchisement. Once your group owns the freehold, each leaseholder gets to grant themselves a 999-year lease, which is pretty handy. However, some requirements apply: you’ll need at least 50% of qualifying leaseholders on board, and the building can’t have more than 50% commercial space (as per RTM reforms, although collective enfranchisement rules have a few differences).

The Freehold Reform Act aims to make this whole process easier and cheaper, though we’re still waiting on some of the detailed regulations – and it looks like its changes are going to take a bit of time to filter through. If you’re thinking of comparing ‘extend the lease’ and ‘buy the freehold’, get some valuations done for both. It’s worth noting that extending your lease can help with predictable rent terms, but acquiring the freehold could give your property a better long-term value and a lot more control – especially if you are looking to buy a house.

Practical Tips to Keep Lease Extension Costs and Stress to a Minimum

Lease extensions can be a nightmare – with solicitors, surveyors, formal notices and deadlines all coming into play. Early planning, a good team and getting things in order can make all the difference to both cost and timeline.

Don’t wait until your lease gets down to 80 years or less. Every year below that adds marriage value to your premium. If timing is of the essence, then get moving before your lease drops below that mark.
Get all your documents in order first: your original lease, any changes made to it, managing agent details and mortgage details. Having these in order before you instruct the professionals means you’ll save time and won’t have to repeat yourself to them.
Find a team that knows what they are doing. A general conveyancer or high-street solicitor might not have the necessary tribunal experience. Ask how many lease extensions they have done in the past 12 months and see if they can tick the boxes.
Don’t mess about when responding to information requests. Statutory deadlines are strict, and missing them can cost you big time – or in the worst-case scenario, forfeit your claim.
Get your remortgaging in order. A longer lease can make you more equity and may even give you access to better mortgage rates, which can help fund the premium.
Consider extending your lease with your neighbours. Valuers might offer you a reduced surveyor fee if they can get all the valuations done at the same time for multiple flats in the same building.
Budget sensibly. Get written estimates from all the professionals involved – covering all the legal, valuation and landlord-side costs – before you commit.

Most lease extensions go pretty smoothly and can be completed in 3-9 months if you’re on top of things.

FAQs

Will I definitely get a 990-year lease extension if I apply in 2026?

No. In 2026, most leaseholders still get a 90-year extension on top of their existing lease under the current statutory rules for flats, and around 50 years for most houses. The 990-year term is part of the Freehold Reform Act but we’re still waiting on some of the regulations and rules – so check with a specialist before you assume a 990-year extension is in play.

Is it ever sensible not to extend my lease?

If your current lease has got plenty of years left (think 120 years +) and the ground rent is low or zero, then the financial gain from extending isn’t worth the hassle. It might be better to wait it out. If you’re an investor planning a quick sale (in a year or less, with 92 years remaining) then it might make sense to leave it for the buyer to sort out later, provided the lenders are cool with the remaining term. However, once you hit 80 years or have some onerous ground rent, delaying usually damages your property value and makes it harder to finance, so deferring becomes quite a risk.

Can my landlord refuse to extend my lease?

On the informal route, the landlord can just say no or make an unappealing formal offer. On the formal statutory route, as long as you meet the criteria, you’ve got a legal right to extend. They can dispute the price, but can’t outright refuse. There are a few exceptions for charitable or Crown landlords – so if you think an exemption might apply, it’s worth getting some specialist advice.

How long does a lease extension take from start to finish?

Most simple, uncontested extensions wrap up in 3-6 months. It can take a lot longer if the title is complicated, if the landlord is missing or if it goes to tribunal – in which case it can drag on for 9-12 months or more. A few things are going to impact the overall timeline: how quickly your valuation is ready, how promptly notices are served, how quickly the landlord responds, and whether you can agree a price without having to go to tribunal. Get started early, and especially before marketing your property for sale – to avoid any chains collapsing due to lease issues.

What happens if I buy a flat with a short lease; can I extend straight away?

Yes – since the two-year ownership rule got axed (in January 2025), all buyers can start the statutory lease extension as soon as their ownership is registered at HM Land Registry. It’s worth negotiating a lower purchase price to reflect the short lease, and budgeting for the extension premium and all the professional fees immediately after completion. Get valuation advice before exchanging contracts so you know what to expect and can factor it into your affordability calculations.