We Buy Short Lease Flats

Why Short Leases Are So Difficult to Sell

When a lease drops below 80 years, mortgage lenders begin to pull back. Below 70 years, the vast majority of lenders will not lend at all. That narrows your pool of potential buyers to those purchasing in cash, a small fraction of the market.

Even among cash buyers, many are reluctant to take on a short lease because they then face the same problem when they come to sell. The result is that short lease flats can sit on the market for months without a credible offer, or attract buyers who use the lease length as leverage to renegotiate the price at a late stage.

We buy short lease flats because we have the expertise to value them accurately and the cash to complete without lender involvement. We factor the cost of extending the lease into our offer from the outset, rather than using it as a reason to chip the price later.

How Lease Length Affects Your Options

The impact is not linear. Each threshold changes the picture significantly.

70 to 80 Years

Some mortgage lenders will still lend, though conditions become less favourable; many require the lease to extend at least 25 to 40 years beyond the end of the mortgage term. Buyers are aware that once the lease dips below 80 years, marriage value applies and the cost of extending rises sharply. This creates urgency but also hesitation.

At this length, selling on the open market is still realistic, though you may face pressure to extend the lease before sale. We buy as-is with no extension required.

60 to 70 Years

The majority of mortgage lenders will not lend at this length. You are effectively selling to cash buyers only, which means a smaller pool of buyers competing for your property. Offers on the open market, if you receive them, are likely to be materially below where a similar flat with a longer lease would sell.

We buy at this length regularly. Our offer reflects the lease cost transparently, without the process of negotiating with a freeholder or waiting for extension quotes.

Below 60 Years

Below 60 years, conventional sales are very rare. Lease extension premiums under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 are substantial at this length, and marriage value (which has applied since the lease dropped below 80 years) has grown materially by this point. Many sellers at this length have been unable to sell for years.

This is where we add the most value. We buy with no preconditions, assess the freeholder situation carefully, and complete in weeks rather than months or years.

How We Value a Short Lease Flat

Valuing a short lease flat accurately requires understanding the lease itself, the freeholder's position, and what it would cost to extend. We look at the title register, the lease document, any known complications with the freeholder, and current comparable sales in the area.

Our offer reflects all of these factors. If you have already served a Section 42 notice, the statutory notice that begins the lease extension process, that is beneficial to us and we will factor it in. The notice is assigned to us on completion, and we take over the extension from where you left off.

We do not make a headline offer and then reduce it once solicitors have reviewed the lease. What we offer after our initial assessment is what we intend to pay. If anything material changes during due diligence, we discuss it with you openly before proceeding.

No lease extension required before sale
Section 42 notices assigned to us on completion
Cash purchase, no lender to satisfy
We absorb freeholder complexity
Offers provided in days, completion in weeks

Why Sellers with Short Lease Flats Choose Us

Owners of short lease flats typically have three routes: the open market with an estate agent (private treaty), auction, or direct sale to a cash buyer like us. Each has trade-offs, and the right one depends on whether the priority is the highest price, a fixed completion date, or removing the lease-extension burden entirely.

The open market usually achieves the highest price but the buyer pool narrows sharply once the lease drops below 80 years; many sellers face pressure to extend first, which can take six to eighteen months and cost tens of thousands of pounds in freeholder premiums and legal fees before any of that outlay is recovered from the sale price. Auction works well for short lease flats because the buyer pool is investor-led and expects them: contracts exchange when the hammer falls, completion follows within 28 days, and the price reflects the lease length openly without the back-and-forth of private treaty negotiation; the trade-off is a price typically below open-market value. Selling direct to us is the simplest route: no extension, no freeholder negotiation, no risk of a buyer withdrawing once they see the lease length; the trade-off is the lowest headline price, reflecting the extension cost we will absorb.

If you have time, the cash to fund an extension, and want the highest possible price, extending then selling on the open market is the usual answer. If you want a fixed completion date and an investor-aware buyer pool, auction suits short lease flats well. If you have already lost a buyer because of the lease length, or you are dealing with an estate, a divorce, or financial pressure, sell direct.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the shortest lease you will buy?

We have bought flats with fewer than 7 years remaining on the lease. There is no minimum threshold below which we automatically decline. What matters is the full picture: the flat, the location, the building, and the freeholder situation.

Do I need to extend the lease before selling to you?

We buy the flat as it is, with no requirement for a lease extension before completing the sale. We factor the existing lease length into our offer rather than asking you to go through the extension process first.

How does the short lease affect your offer price?

The shorter the lease, the greater the discount relative to the full-length equivalent. This reflects the cost of extending the lease and the reduced pool of buyers. We are transparent about how we have arrived at our figure, and our offer does not change after we have made it.

Can I sell if the freeholder is difficult or unresponsive?

Yes. An unresponsive freeholder is a common complication we encounter. It does not prevent a sale to us, though it may affect the price we can offer, since a missing or uncooperative freeholder creates uncertainty around future extension rights.

What if I have already served a Section 42 notice?

A Section 42 notice in progress is a benefit, not a complication. The notice is assigned to us on completion, meaning we pick up the lease extension process where you left off. This can improve our offer.