How many years should be left on a lease when buying a flat?

Above 90 years is comfortable, 80 to 90 is fine but plan to extend, and below 80 years marriage value applies, so the price you pay should reflect the extension cost. Below 70 years many mainstream lenders decline, and below 60 the flat trades largely at cash-buyer prices until the lease is extended.

Has the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 come into force?

Only partly. Since 31 January 2025 you no longer need two years' ownership before claiming an extension. But the valuation changes everyone talks about, abolishing marriage value, 990-year extensions and prescribed rates, are not in force: the rates consultation had not been launched by mid-2026 and freeholder litigation continues. Extensions completing today are valued under the old law.

How much does a lease extension cost?

Three parts: the premium to the freeholder (from a few thousand pounds on a long lease to tens of thousands once marriage value applies), your own valuation and legal fees of roughly £2,000 to £4,000, and on the statutory route the freeholder's reasonable fees as well. The statutory extension adds 90 years at a peppercorn ground rent.

Should I extend my lease now or wait for the reforms?

Above roughly 85 years, waiting is a reasonable bet because a long lease loses little value each year. Between 80 and 85 it is a gamble: if commencement slips past your 80th year, expected around 2027 or 2028 at the earliest, you cross the marriage value cliff under the old rules. Below 80, decide on your own timeline, because each year of waiting raises the old-law premium while resale and remortgaging keep hurting.

Lease length and extensions: the 80-year cliff, explained

Q: What is marriage value on a lease?

Once a lease has fewer than 80 unexpired years, the freeholder is entitled to half of the increase in value that extending the lease creates, on top of the normal premium. It typically adds thousands and grows every year the lease shortens, which is why the standard advice is to extend, or serve the statutory notice, before crossing 80 years.

How many years are left on the lease is the single most important number on a leasehold flat: it decides whether lenders will touch it, what it resells for, and how much putting it right will cost. This guide covers how long is long enough, why 80 years is the cliff edge, what a statutory extension actually involves, and the question everyone is asking in 2026: whether to extend now or wait for the reform Act that was supposed to make it cheaper. Check your own number first with the lease length checker, and if you're still deciding between property types, start at freehold vs leasehold.

How long is long enough?

Years left	Verdict
90+	Comfortable. Every lender fine, no urgency — just know the number.
83–90	Fine today, but plan the extension: the process takes 6–12 months and the cliff is coming.
80–83	Act now. Serve the statutory notice before crossing 80 — it locks in the valuation date.
70–80	Marriage value applies. Extending costs materially more; buyers will price it into offers.
60–70	Many lenders decline. Extend before selling or expect cash-buyer prices.
Under 60	Largely cash-buyer territory until extended. Professional advice before any move.

Two lender rules of thumb explain the middle of that table: many want roughly 70+ years unexpired at purchase, and many want the lease to outlast the mortgage term by 30–40 years. A 78-year lease fails the second test for a 40-year mortgage even though it sounds long.

The 80-year cliff: marriage value

Extending a lease increases the flat's value. Once the unexpired term is below 80 years, the law entitles the freeholder to half of that uplift — called marriage value — on top of the normal premium. It typically adds thousands, and it grows every year the lease shortens.

That single rule drives all the standard advice:

Above 80 with room to spare: you control the timing.
Approaching 80: serving the statutory notice before the lease crosses 80 freezes the valuation on the service date, even if the process itself runs past it.
Below 80: the cost is what it is, and waiting makes it worse. If you're buying below 80, get an extension estimate first and negotiate it off the price.

"Wasn't all this abolished?" — the 2024 Act, honestly

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 does abolish marriage value, makes the standard extension 990 years instead of 90, and prescribes the valuation rates. Passed May 2024, upheld against freeholders' human-rights challenge in the High Court.

Here is the catch, and it is a big one: none of those valuation provisions are in force. They need secondary legislation that starts with a consultation on the rates — which, by mid-2026, had still not been launched — and the freeholders' litigation is continuing to the Court of Appeal. Every extension completing today is valued under the old law, marriage value included. Realistic commencement talk is 2027 at the optimistic end, 2028 more likely, and the prescribed rates could yet land in a place that isn't cheaper for every leaseholder.

What is in force from the 2024 Act: since 31 January 2025 you no longer need to have owned the flat for two years before claiming an extension. Buyers can start the process on day one.

Extend now or wait for the reforms?

There is no universal answer, but there is a clean way to think about it:

Your lease	The sensible bet
90+ years	Wait. You lose almost nothing while the lease is long.
85–90 years	Waiting is reasonable, but re-check yearly — commencement dates keep slipping.
80–85 years	The gamble zone. If the reforms slip past your 80th year, you cross the cliff and pay marriage value under the old rules. Many at this length serve notice rather than bet on Whitehall's timetable.
Below 80 years	The reforms would help you most — but each year of waiting also raises the old-law premium if they slip again, and a short lease keeps hurting resale and remortgaging in the meantime. Decide on your own timeline (selling? remortgaging?), not the government's.

What a statutory extension involves

Every flat owner has a legal right (Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993) to add 90 years to the lease at a peppercorn (zero) ground rent. The route:

Valuation. A RICS surveyor experienced in enfranchisement estimates the premium and a negotiating range. Roughly £600–£1,200.
Section 42 notice. Your solicitor serves the formal claim on the freeholder, stating your proposed premium. This freezes the valuation date.
Counter-notice. The freeholder has at least two months to respond, usually with a higher figure.
Negotiation. Most cases settle between the two valuers.
Tribunal, if needed. Either side can ask the First-tier Tribunal to set the premium. Most cases never get there.
Completion. New lease registered; ground rent falls to zero for the whole term.

Budget three parts: the premium itself, your fees (valuation plus solicitor, roughly £2,000–£4,000 all in), and — on the statutory route — the freeholder's reasonable valuation and legal fees, which you pay too.

The informal route (just asking the freeholder for a deal) can be quicker and cheaper upfront, but the freeholder sets the terms: watch for shorter added terms, ground rent that survives or escalates, and no tribunal backstop. Any informal offer should be compared against a statutory quote before signing.

Houses are different

Leasehold houses have their own regime: a right to a 50-year extension, but more often the better move is buying the freehold outright (enfranchisement), which the 2024 Act also intends to make easier and which many lenders prefer. If you own a leasehold house, get advice on the freehold purchase before paying for an extension.

The other number on the lease: ground rent

Lenders reject leases over ground rent as well as length: doubling clauses (especially doubling faster than every 20 years) and rents above 0.1% of the property value are common refusal triggers. A statutory extension solves this — the ground rent becomes a peppercorn. For new leases, ground rent has been capped at a peppercorn since June 2022 (Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022); the 2024 Act's ground-rent measures for existing leases are, like the valuation changes, not yet in force.

Where to check your own lease

Your unexpired term is on the title register (£7 from HM Land Registry) or in the lease itself: "125 years from 25 December 1989" means it expires in 2114 — count from the start date in the lease, not the date you bought. Then run the number through the lease length checker for the verdict and a rough premium range, and use the free calculators and guidance at LEASE, the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service before instructing anyone.