Short leases in 2026: how many are under 80 years, what it costs, and what the law actually says today
One in ten leases in England is under 80 years. What that does to your lease extension premium and mortgage, where leasehold reform really stands in September 2026, and how to work out your number.
The leasehold headlines this year have been about new build flats, ground rents and building safety. The quieter problem sits in older stock: leases that are running down, in some cases past the point where a mortgage lender or a buyer will touch them. The numbers are not small, and the law that decides what it costs to fix it has not changed yet, whatever the announcements suggested.
How many leases are actually short
MHCLG's latest estimate (Leasehold dwellings 2024 to 2025, published May 2026) puts England at 4.9 million leasehold homes, a fifth of all housing. London has 1.44 million of them, 39% of everything in the capital. Across those leases, 10% have 80 years or fewer left, which is roughly 490,000, and 246,000 owner occupied households are living on a lease under 80 years today.
Two things stand out in the detail. First, the problem skews older: 15% of owner occupiers aged 65 and over have a lease under 80 years, against 3% of those aged 30 to 44, so a large share of short leases will surface at probate rather than at sale. Second, government statistics stop at "80 years or fewer". There is no official count of leases under 50 years. In London that band is typically 1960s to 1980s conversions and ex-local authority flats where the original 99 year lease has never been touched.
What a short lease costs
Below 80 years unexpired, the freeholder is entitled to half of the marriage value: the uplift that extending creates. That one rule is the largest step in the whole calculation, and it does not taper. The chart shows the same £425,000 London flat with a fixed £250 ground rent at different unexpired terms, using the model behind our free lease extension calculator.
Read down the column. From 82 years to 79 the estimate rises by about half, with nothing about the flat having changed. From 79 to 70 it rises by three quarters again. At 50 years the premium is approaching a fifth of the flat's value, and at 40 years more than a third. These are indicative ranges, not a valuation: a doubling or RPI linked ground rent, the settlement evidence in your building and the freeholder's own surveyor all move the number.
The second cost is quieter. Lenders typically want a minimum unexpired term at the end of the mortgage, often 30 to 40 years beyond it, and a number will not lend under 70 years at all. Under about 50 years a flat is effectively cash only, so its price falls further below the freehold value than the premium alone would explain. That is why a short lease shows up as a gap in the sale price long before the lease actually expires.
Where the law stands in September 2026
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is on the statute book, but most of what matters to a short lease owner is not yet in force:
- In force. The two year ownership rule went on 31 January 2025. A buyer can extend immediately, and a seller can serve the section 42 notice and assign it to the buyer, fixing the premium at today's lease length rather than the buyer's completion date.
- Not in force. Abolition of marriage value, the 990 year extension, peppercorn ground rents on extension, and the prescribed capitalisation and deferment rates that replace the current case law figures. The government's consultation on those rates runs to 21 October 2026. Freeholders' judicial review was dismissed by the High Court in October 2025, but their appeal is listed for the Court of Appeal in April 2027, and the government has set no commencement date for the valuation provisions.
- Still a Bill. The draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill was published in January 2026 and the government has committed to bringing it forward this session. It is mainly about commonhold and building management, not the price of extending.
So for any claim made today, the 80 year line, marriage value and the existing valuation rules all apply in full, and realistically they will for a year or more. Waiting is a legitimate choice, but it is a bet with a visible cost, and the rates consultation cuts both ways: a lower deferment rate would raise premiums on longer leases even after marriage value goes.
What to do if your lease is under 80 years, or about to be
Find out where you stand. The unexpired term is on your title at HM Land Registry, and our calculator gives an indicative range in a minute. If you are within five years of 80, the date matters more than anything else on this page.
Get a Red Book valuation before you negotiate. A freeholder's opening figure is an opening figure. A RICS Registered Valuer values all three components with settlement evidence from your area, which is what the Tribunal will look at if it goes that far, and the gap between a freeholder's first demand and the agreed premium is often substantial on a London flat.
Serve the notice, then talk. A section 42 notice fixes the valuation date and starts the statutory timetable. Informal deals with the freeholder can be quicker but come with no protection on the ground rent or the term, and a "friendly" 90 year extension with a doubling ground rent is worse than the statutory one.
Selling? Serve the notice and assign it. Buyers and their lenders price a short lease harshly; a flat sold with the right to extend at today's term attracts mortgage buyers again.
Probate? The lease length on the date of death is part of the probate valuation, and executors often discover the short lease and the premium at the same time. It is worth dealing with before the flat is marketed.
Surveyor Sorted is a RICS regulated firm and our valuers act for leaseholders across London and the South East on statutory and informal extensions, including the negotiation with the freeholder's surveyor. Start with the calculator, then get in touch for a fixed fee valuation.
Figures are from MHCLG's Leasehold dwellings 2024 to 2025 and Leasehold term remaining 2023 to 2024 releases. Premium ranges are from the Surveyor Sorted calculator model and are indicative only. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
- How many leasehold properties in England have less than 80 years left?
- About one in ten. MHCLG's Leasehold dwellings 2024 to 2025 release (May 2026) puts 10% of England's 4.9 million leases at 80 years or fewer, roughly 490,000 leases, and 246,000 owner occupied households living on a lease under 80 years. Government statistics do not break out leases under 50 years separately.
- Why does 80 years matter for a lease extension?
- Below 80 years unexpired the freeholder is entitled to half of the marriage value, the uplift created when the lease is extended. That single rule is the biggest step in the premium. On a £425,000 London flat the estimated premium goes from £10,000 to £14,000 at 82 years to £14,000 to £22,000 at 79 years.
- Has marriage value been abolished yet?
- No. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 abolishes it, but that part of the Act has not been brought into force. As of September 2026 the government is consulting on the valuation rates until 21 October 2026, freeholders' legal challenge goes to the Court of Appeal in April 2027, and no commencement date has been set. The 80 year rule still applies to every claim made today.
- Can I get a mortgage on a flat with a short lease?
- It gets harder below about 80 years and very hard below 70. Most lenders want a set number of years left at the end of the mortgage term, commonly 30 to 40 years beyond it, and several will not lend on anything under 70 years at all. Under 50 years a flat is usually a cash only purchase, which is why prices fall so far below the freehold value.
- Do I still have to own the flat for two years before extending?
- No. The two year ownership requirement was removed on 31 January 2025. A buyer can serve a section 42 notice as soon as they are the registered owner, and a seller can serve the notice and assign the benefit to the buyer so the price is fixed at today's lease length.
- How is a lease extension premium calculated?
- Three parts: the ground rent the freeholder loses, capitalised over the remaining term; the reversion, which is the value of getting the flat back 90 years later than before; and, below 80 years, half of the marriage value. The rates used for each part, and the relativity between a short lease and the freehold value, are argued from settlement evidence, which is where a RICS valuer earns their fee.
- Should I wait for leasehold reform before extending?
- It is a gamble with a known cost. Every year a lease under 80 years runs down, the premium rises, roughly 50% between 82 and 79 years and another 75% between 79 and 70 on the example flat. The reforms have no start date, the rates consultation could raise premiums for some long leases, and a Court of Appeal hearing is not until April 2027. A valuation tells you what waiting costs in your case.
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