For a Gulf owner of a London flat with 70 to 90 years left, extending the lease (our leasehold or freehold guide explains what one is) is the most valuable thing to do, and the most confusing, because the law has half-changed. The 2024 Act promised 990-year lease extensions at no ground rent and the end of marriage value; two years later, neither is in force. The one change in force, the end of the two-year wait, is small.
Owning and letting
Extending a lease or buying the freehold after the 2024 Act: what is in force, what is still waiting, and a worked example
In force and not
A leaseholder of a London flat can require a 90-year extension at a peppercorn ground rent by statutory notice, and since January 2025 need not have owned the flat for two years first. The premium is the freeholder’s loss, plus half the marriage value once the lease has 80 years or fewer left; a £1,500,000 Chelsea flat with 75 years costs about £100,000 to £110,000 all in, against about £30,000 at 85 years. The 2024 Act’s 990-year extensions and the end of marriage value are not in force.
The position of each provision of the Act, as at October 2026:
2024 Act provisions: in force or waiting, October 2026
| Provision of the 2024 Act | Status, October 2026 |
|---|---|
| No need to own the flat for two years before claiming an extension | In force since 31 January 2025 |
| Right to manage: no liability for the landlord’s costs, non-residential threshold raised to 50 per cent | In force since March 2025 |
| 990-year extension (in place of 90 years added) | Not commenced |
| Ground rent reduced to a peppercorn on extension | Not commenced for the new regime (the 90-year extension already carries a peppercorn) |
| Abolition of marriage value | Not commenced; the valuation regulations it depends on were still not made in 2026, a freeholders’ legal challenge is before the courts, and a further Bill carries corrections |
| New valuation scheme (deferment and capitalisation rates set by regulation) | Not commenced |
| Leaseholder no longer pays the landlord’s costs on a claim | Not commenced |
Source: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (legislation.gov.uk); Connaught Law note on what is in force, updated October 2026.
The realistic view, shared by most practitioners, is that the valuation changes arrive in 2027 or 2028, if the challenge fails. Until then the 1993 Act rules apply as they always have.
Your right to extend a flat lease by statutory notice today
A leaseholder of a flat under a long lease (originally over 21 years) may, by statutory notice, require the freeholder to grant a new lease of 90 years added to the unexpired term at a peppercorn (nil) ground rent, in return for a premium and the freeholder’s reasonable costs. Since January 2025 the leaseholder need not have owned for two years, so a buyer can serve notice on the day of completion, and a seller can serve notice and assign the benefit to the buyer.
How the lease extension premium is calculated and made up
The premium is the loss to the freeholder: the capitalised ground rent, the reduced value of the freeholder’s reversion (the flat coming back to him at the end of the lease, now deferred by 90 years), and, where the lease has 80 years or fewer left, half of the marriage value.
Marriage value and the 80-year lease cliff explained
Marriage value is the gain in the flat’s value from the extension, over and above the loss to the freeholder; it is shared 50/50 with the freeholder only when the lease has 80 years or fewer remaining at the date of the notice. A lease at 81 years pays no marriage value; at 79 it may pay tens of thousands.
What a flat buyer should do about a short lease
A buyer of a flat with 82 years should serve notice immediately; a buyer of one with 78 should price the extension into the offer. Lenders also tighten at 80 years, and below 70 most will not lend. Our due diligence guide puts the unexpired term at the top of the lease pack’s questions.
Worked lease extension premium for a Chelsea flat
The firm’s illustrative figures for a Chelsea flat with 75 years left:
Worked premium, Chelsea flat with 75 years unexpired
| Chelsea flat worth £1,500,000 with a 125-year lease; 75 years unexpired; ground rent £250 a year | £ |
|---|---|
| Value with 75 years, say 88 per cent of freehold value | 1,320,000 |
| Value with 165 years at a peppercorn, say 99 per cent | 1,485,000 |
| Capitalised ground rent lost to the freeholder | about 4,000 |
| Freeholder’s reversion deferred 90 years (at a 5 per cent deferment rate) | about 20,000 |
| Marriage value: £1,485,000 less £1,320,000 less the above, halved | about 70,000 |
| Premium | about 94,000 |
| Freeholder’s valuation and legal costs, payable by the leaseholder | 3,000 to 6,000 |
| Leaseholder’s own valuer and solicitor | 4,000 to 8,000 |
| Total | about 100,000 to 110,000 |
Source: firm’s illustrative calculation under the 1993 Act rules, October 2026; Leasehold Advisory Service guidance on lease extension for flats.
The same flat at 85 years would cost about £30,000 all in. Our figures are illustrative; the relativity (the value of a short lease as a proportion of the freehold value) is the valuers’ argument and moves the premium by tens of thousands, which is why both sides instruct one.
The formal lease extension route: section 42 notice to tribunal
A section 42 notice from the leaseholder, proposing a premium; the freeholder’s counter-notice within two months, admitting the right and proposing its own figure; negotiation; and, failing agreement, an application to the First-tier Tribunal, which sets the premium. The leaseholder pays a deposit of 10 per cent of the proposed premium on request, the freeholder’s reasonable costs whatever the outcome, and the premium on completion of the new lease.
How long a lease extension takes and the valuation date
Six to twelve months; a specialist valuer and solicitor, not the conveyancer who did the purchase. The notice protects the leaseholder’s position (the valuation date is the notice date, so a rising market does not raise the premium), and a buyer who inherits a seller’s notice inherits that date.
Buying the freehold of a block of flats collectively
Where at least half the qualifying leaseholders of a building of two or more flats act together, they may collectively buy the freehold (enfranchisement), each then holding a share and granting themselves 999-year leases at no premium beyond the freehold price; the price is the sum of the extension premiums for the participants’ flats plus the value of the non-participants’ reversions.
Collective enfranchisement on the great London estates and in small blocks
On the great London estates (Grosvenor, Cadogan, Howard de Walden, Eyre) the estates resist where they can and the law exempts some of their buildings; in a converted house or a small block it is the best outcome for the leaseholders and the usual source of a “share of freehold” flat. An owner abroad participates through the solicitor and a vote; the firm has organised it for blocks where its clients own.
Informal lease extensions outside the Act: when to accept one
A freeholder may agree an extension outside the Act, on any terms: often faster and cheaper on the face of it, often at a ground rent that rises, for fewer years, with the freeholder’s costs loaded in. The estates offer informal extensions as a matter of course. The firm’s rule is to take the valuer’s figure for the statutory route first, and accept an informal offer only if it is cheaper on the same terms (a peppercorn, 90 years or more) and the freeholder is reliable; an informal lease with a doubling ground rent is a worse asset than the one it replaced.
Should you extend your lease now or wait for the Act?
The 2024 Act, when its valuation provisions commence, would abolish marriage value and change the rates, which for a lease under 80 years should reduce the premium substantially; for a lease over 80 years the change is smaller and may go either way under the new rates. The commencement date is not known and may be 2028. A lease at 82 years should be extended now, before it crosses 80.
Extend or wait: the firm's rule by unexpired lease term
A lease at 70 to 79 years is the hard case: waiting may save £50,000 and may cost a sale, a lender and four years of a diminishing asset; the firm’s usual advice is to extend now if the flat is to be sold or financed within five years, and to wait with a valuer’s view if it is a long hold and the owner can bear the uncertainty. A lease at 90 years or more can wait for the Act without harm.
Sources: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (legislation.gov.uk) · Lease extension for flats (Leasehold Advisory Service) · Leasehold property: extending, changing or ending a lease (GOV.UK) · Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024: what is in force (Connaught Law, updated October 2026) Figures verified 14 October 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about extending a lease after the 2024 Act
Yes, since January 2025; serve notice on completion, or have the seller serve and assign it to you, which fixes the valuation date earlier.
On a statutory extension today, yes, the new lease is at a peppercorn. On an existing lease without extension, no; the ban on ground rent applies to new leases granted since 2022 and the 2024 Act’s reduction of existing rents has not commenced.
Cheaper, when it commences, by removing marriage value; the new rates may offset some of that, and the date is uncertain. Get a valuer’s figure under both regimes and decide on the sale and finance horizon.
With 75 years unexpired and a £250 ground rent, the firm’s illustration gives a premium of about £94,000: roughly £4,000 for the ground rent, £20,000 for the deferred reversion and £70,000 as half the marriage value. Add the freeholder’s costs of £3,000 to £6,000 and your own valuer and solicitor at £4,000 to £8,000, and the total is about £100,000 to £110,000. The same flat at 85 years would cost about £30,000 all in.
Marriage value is payable only when the lease has 80 years or fewer left at the date of the notice, and it is shared 50/50 with the freeholder. A lease at 81 years pays none; at 79 it may pay tens of thousands. Lenders also tighten at 80 years, and below 70 most will not lend. A flat with 82 years should have notice served immediately; one with 78 should have the extension priced into the offer.
Six to twelve months. The leaseholder serves a section 42 notice proposing a premium, the freeholder serves a counter-notice within two months, the parties negotiate, and if they cannot agree the First-tier Tribunal sets the premium. On request the leaseholder pays a deposit of 10 per cent of the proposed premium, and pays the freeholder’s reasonable costs whatever the outcome. Use a specialist valuer and solicitor, not the conveyancer who did the purchase.
Only if it is cheaper than the valuer’s figure for the statutory route on the same terms, meaning a peppercorn ground rent and 90 years or more added, and the freeholder is reliable. Informal deals are often faster on the face of it but come with a rising ground rent, fewer years and the freeholder’s costs loaded in. An informal lease with a doubling ground rent is a worse asset than the one it replaced.
Yes. Where at least half the qualifying leaseholders of a building of two or more flats act together, they may collectively buy the freehold, each taking a share and granting themselves 999-year leases. The price is the sum of the participants’ extension premiums plus the value of the non-participants’ reversions. An owner abroad takes part through the solicitor and a vote; the firm has organised this for blocks where its clients own.
This is the hard case. Waiting may save £50,000 if marriage value is abolished, but the commencement date is unknown and may be 2028, and meanwhile the lease may cost you a sale, a lender and four years of a diminishing asset. The firm’s usual advice is to extend now if the flat will be sold or financed within five years, and to wait with a valuer’s view if it is a long hold.
No. A lease at 90 years or more pays no marriage value and sits comfortably above the point where lenders tighten, so it can wait for the 2024 Act’s valuation provisions without harm. The lease to act on is one at 82 years, which should be extended now before it crosses 80.
