How to Extend Your Lease
The statutory process step by step: Section 42 notices, premiums, professional costs, timescales, and what LAFRA 2024 has actually changed.
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Should I Extend My Lease Before Selling?
Extending can add value, but it costs money and takes time. Whether it makes financial sense depends on how many years are left on your lease, your flat's value, and what the market will pay for a flat with that lease length.
The Decision at a Glance
Extending a lease before selling adds years to the term, removes the ground rent under the statutory route, and makes the flat mortgageable by a wider pool of buyers. In theory, that should produce a higher sale price. In practice, the question is whether the uplift in sale price exceeds the total cost of extending, including professional fees, the freeholder's costs, and the time you spend waiting for the process to complete.
The answer is not the same for every flat. It depends most heavily on where your lease sits relative to the 80-year marriage value threshold, how much your flat is worth, and how quickly you need to sell. The sections below break this down by lease band.
The Core Question
When you extend a lease, you pay the extension premium plus professional fees on both sides: your own solicitor and surveyor, and the freeholder's solicitor and surveyor too. Statute requires the leaseholder to cover the freeholder's reasonable costs, not just their own. In return, the flat should sell for more than it would with the shorter lease. The question is whether the uplift exceeds the total cost.
Buyers and lenders discount short lease flats for two reasons: the risk that the lease will run down further, and the cost of extending themselves. If the buyer can extend after purchase and the cost to them is roughly what you would spend, they will simply price the extension cost into their offer. You end up in the same position financially, but you have spent time and money extending rather than selling.
There is also a structural price difference between buyer types. Once a lease falls short enough that mortgage lenders will not lend on it, the entire pool of mortgage-dependent buyers drops out. Only cash buyers and investors remain, and they apply a discount: they are taking on the extension cost, the time it involves, and the risk that the process is more complicated than expected. That discount is not simply the cost of the extension; it also reflects the inconvenience and uncertainty. An extended flat reopens the market to owner-occupiers buying with a mortgage, who compete with each other and bid closer to full market value. That competition tends to push the sale price well above what any individual cash buyer would offer.
This dynamic changes when the lease crosses certain thresholds. Below 80 years, marriage value applies and the cost of extending rises. Below 70 years, most mortgage lenders drop out and the buyer pool shrinks to cash buyers only. Each of these thresholds changes the calculation.
Decision by Lease Length Band
The right decision looks different depending on where your lease sits. Here is a rough guide, with the caveat that every flat is different and these are general observations rather than firm rules.
85 years or more remaining
The flat is fully mortgageable and the buyer pool is not restricted. Extending before selling is unlikely to generate a net gain: buyers can extend themselves after purchase at similar cost, and they know it. The premium and fees you spend will probably not translate into a proportional price increase. Most owners with 85-plus years remaining are better off selling as-is.
80 to 85 years remaining
This is the band where extending makes the most compelling case. The lease is still above the 80-year marriage value threshold, so the premium is calculated without marriage value: typically a few thousand pounds for most London flats. Once the lease dips below 80 years, the premium rises sharply. If you are in this band and do not have an urgent need to sell, serving a Section 42 notice and beginning the process could protect you from a much larger extension bill later.
The risk is timing: the extension process takes 6 to 12 months, and if the lease crosses 80 years during the process, the premium is locked in at the date of the Section 42 notice (not the date the lease falls below 80 years). Serving the notice promptly matters.
70 to 80 years remaining
Marriage value applies at every point in this band, and the cost of extending is higher as a result. The net proceeds calculation becomes more finely balanced. On one side: the extended flat is mortgageable to a wider buyer pool, which supports a higher price and a faster sale. On the other side: the extension premium plus marriage value, professional fees (yours and the freeholder's), and potentially 9 to 12 months of your time.
A surveyor who specialises in leasehold can give you an indicative premium. Compare that against a realistic assessment of how much more the flat would sell for extended. If the numbers are close, the time and uncertainty cost of extending often tips the balance towards selling as-is or selling to a cash buyer.
Below 70 years
Most high-street mortgage lenders will not lend. The buyer pool is cash buyers, investors, and buyers using bridging finance. The price discount relative to an extended flat is real and meaningful. Whether extending is worth it depends on the same net proceeds calculation, but the decision is complicated by how far below 70 years the lease sits. At 65 years, an extension with marriage value on a £350,000 flat might cost £30,000 to £50,000 all-in. If the extended flat sells for £50,000 more, the net gain is marginal once you account for time, fees, and the risk that the extended flat takes longer to sell than expected.
Many owners in this band find that a direct sale to a specialist cash buyer produces a faster and more predictable outcome than extending first. The offer reflects the short lease, but the sale proceeds without the delays, professional costs, and freeholder negotiations that an extension involves.
Below 60 years
The flat is very difficult to mortgage. Even specialist lenders and bridging lenders become cautious below this point. The extension premium with marriage value is substantial. For many owners in this position, extending before selling is not financially viable: the cost of the extension may exceed the additional sale price it would generate. Cash buyers familiar with short lease flats are the most realistic buyer pool, and the price reflects that.
Calculating Net Proceeds
The simplest way to make this decision is to compare what you would actually receive in each scenario. Here is a worked example using illustrative figures for a London flat worth £300,000 with 75 years on the lease.
Scenario A: sell as-is
The flat is marketed with 75 years remaining. Most lenders will still lend at this term, but with a smaller pool than an extended flat. A realistic market discount for a 75-year lease might be 5 to 10% below what the same flat would achieve with 150-plus years. Call it £275,000 to £285,000. You keep that figure, less your solicitor's fees for the sale itself.
Scenario B: extend, then sell
A surveyor estimates the extension premium at around £18,000 (including marriage value on a £300,000 flat at 75 years). Add your solicitor costs of around £2,000, your surveyor's costs of around £1,200, and the freeholder's costs of around £2,500. Total extension cost: roughly £23,700.
Extended to 165 years, the flat sells for the full market value: £300,000. Net proceeds from the sale, before the extension cost: £300,000. Subtract £23,700 and the net after extension is approximately £276,300, plus solicitor fees for the sale.
What the numbers say
In this example, the two scenarios are very close. Scenario A (sell as-is at a discount) and Scenario B (extend then sell at full value) produce similar net proceeds. What Scenario B also costs you is 6 to 12 months, uncertainty about the premium until it is agreed with the freeholder, and the possibility of the sale falling through during the extension process.
These are illustrative figures only. Actual premiums vary significantly depending on flat value, current lease term, ground rent, and local market conditions. A leasehold surveyor can give you a precise premium estimate before you commit.
The Timing Problem
Even when the net proceeds calculation favours extending, timing creates practical complications.
You cannot usually list a property for sale and complete a lease extension at the same time. Buyers' solicitors will see the extension in progress and some buyers will not proceed: they cannot rely on the lease term improving, they cannot predict when the process will complete, and they have no certainty about the final premium. Listing before the extension is complete is possible, but it limits the buyer pool and can cause deals to fall through mid-way.
The cleaner approach is to start the extension, wait for it to complete, and then list. That typically means 9 to 12 months before the flat comes to market. If your timeline does not allow for that, selling as-is or selling to a cash buyer who can proceed without the extension is more practical.
One exception: specialist cash buyers and property investors will often purchase a flat with the extension in progress, taking the assignment of the Section 42 notice. This means you get the sale proceeds without waiting for the extension to complete, while the buyer inherits the extension process.
LAFRA 2024: The Uncertainty Factor
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 was passed with the aim of making lease extensions cheaper. The two provisions most relevant to this decision are the abolition of marriage value and the extension of the statutory lease term to 990 years.
Neither is in force as of early 2026. Marriage value still applies below 80 years. Extensions still add 90 years, not 990.
The government has indicated it intends to bring further provisions into force, but has not given a timetable. If marriage value is eventually abolished, the cost of extending below 80 years will fall considerably: the premium on a 75-year lease might drop by £15,000 to £30,000 on a typical London flat. That would change the net proceeds calculation significantly.
There are two ways to respond to this uncertainty:
- Wait for the reforms before extending: possible if you are not under time pressure, but there is no guarantee on timing and the lease continues to run down.
- Extend now at current costs: the extension is done, the lease is secured, and you do not depend on legislative timetables.
LEASE publishes updates on the implementation of LAFRA and can advise on the current position.
Selling With a Short Lease
If you decide not to extend before selling, or if the extension does not make financial sense, you are not without options. The flat is still saleable.
Open market with the short lease
With 75 years or more remaining, a sale on the open market is fully possible. The buyer pool includes mortgage buyers (subject to lender requirements), though it is narrower than for a long lease flat. Pricing needs to reflect the cost and inconvenience of the extension the buyer will have to do themselves.
Below 70 years, the buyer pool on the open market shrinks to cash buyers, investors, and those using bridging finance. Marketing the flat at auction can help reach this pool, particularly at property investment auctions. The price reflects the short lease, but the sale can complete in a defined timeframe.
Selling to a specialist cash buyer
A direct sale to a specialist cash buyer avoids estate agent fees, public viewings, and the uncertainty of a sale falling through because a buyer's mortgage lender refuses to lend on the lease length. The offer is below the full market value of an extended flat, but that discount is often narrower than people expect, particularly where the extension cost itself is high.
We buy leasehold flats at any lease length, including very short leases, subject to assessing each property individually. If you would like to know what we would offer, you can request a valuation without any obligation to proceed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not always by enough to justify the cost. Above 80 years, the uplift is often modest because buyers can extend themselves at similar cost after purchase. Below 80 years, the uplift is more meaningful, but so is the extension cost. The key is whether the price increase exceeds the all-in cost, including professional fees and the time delay.
Yes. Most high-street lenders will not lend, so buyers need to be cash buyers, investors, or use bridging finance. The price reflects the short lease, but the sale is entirely possible. Specialist cash buyers, auction, and property investors are the most realistic routes.
Statutory route without Tribunal: 6 to 12 months. With Tribunal: 12 to 18 months. Informal route with a cooperative freeholder: 3 to 6 months. If you need to sell within 6 months, completing an extension first is unlikely to be feasible.
The Section 42 notice can be assigned to a buyer as part of the sale. The buyer takes over the notice and the negotiations with the freeholder. Specialist cash buyers and investors are generally comfortable with this. You need to be transparent about the stage the process has reached.
No. Current law applies until the relevant provisions are commenced. As of early 2026, marriage value still applies below 80 years and extensions still add 90 years. There is no confirmed timetable for when the remaining LAFRA 2024 provisions will take effect.
Above 80 years, letting the buyer extend is often the more practical route. Between 70 and 80 years, the numbers need modelling for your specific flat. Below 70 years, the buyer pool is cash-only regardless of whether you extend, and a direct sale often produces a cleaner and faster outcome than extending first.
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