How much does a lease extension cost?

There is no fixed price for a lease extension. The premium to the freeholder is usually the biggest part, and it depends on the years left, the ground rent and the flat's value. You also pay your own surveyor, the freeholder's reasonable costs, your own legal costs and an HM Land Registry fee. A valuer sets the real figure.

Want a figure for your own flat? Calculate your own premium with our free tool. Our lease extension solicitors page explains how we help.

How much does a lease extension cost?

A lease extension has six main costs. The table shows who is paid for each. The premium is the freeholder's price for the longer lease. The other five are the costs of making the claim.

We do not add these into one total. Our legal fee is separate from the premium, your surveyor, the freeholder's costs, the HM Land Registry fee and any Stamp Duty Land Tax.

If you want to know what your lease would cost to extend, talk to us about your lease.

What decides the premium?

The premium is the one-off sum you pay the freeholder for a longer lease. If your lease qualifies, the statutory (formal) route adds 90 years to the years you have left and cuts the ground rent to a peppercorn (section 56 of the 1993 Act). Ground rent is the yearly sum your lease says you pay the freeholder. A peppercorn means none in practice.

The freeholder is paid for what they give up, in three parts (Schedule 13):

1. Ground rent. The value today of the rent they would have received for the rest of your lease.
2. Their interest in the flat. The freeholder gets the flat back when the lease ends. That right is worth less when it is pushed 90 years further away.
3. Half the marriage value, when 80 years or fewer are left. Marriage value is the extra value a longer lease creates, because a flat with a long lease is worth more than the same flat with a short one. The freeholder takes half of it.

The 80 years are counted on the day your notice is served on the freeholder. The government's guide to extending, changing or ending a lease explains the basics, including that the cost rises once 80 years or fewer are left.

What does it cost at 90, 75 and 60 years left?

These examples come from our calculator, and the figures were re-read on 27 October 2026. The calculator uses a 5% deferment rate for flats, used since the Sportelli decision, upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2007. It values the ground rent at 6.5%, the middle of the 6% to 7% range that the government's consultation on valuation rates reports from tribunal cases. The consultation has not set any rates, and the new valuation rules are not in force.

Each premium below is the middle figure from our calculator, with the range at 6% to 7% beside it, rounded to the nearest £100. They are estimates. A valuer sets the real figure, and it can be higher: the calculator leaves out ground rent that rises during the lease, and the rule that values your current lease as if you had no right to extend.

These are the premium only. Your surveyor, the freeholder's costs, our fee, the HM Land Registry fee and any Stamp Duty Land Tax come on top.

The 80-year line shows in the numbers. The same flat comes to about £9,500 with 81 years left and about £18,200 with 75 years left. Part of that jump is the freeholder's half of the marriage value, which our calculator puts at £6,779 for the 75-year flat. You can calculate your own premium with your own lease length, ground rent and values.

What else do you pay?

• Your surveyor. A chartered surveyor values the premium before the notice is served. They set their own fee, so ask for their quote.
• The freeholder's costs. You pay the freeholder's reasonable legal and valuation costs of dealing with your claim (section 60). These are usually payable once the notice is served, whether or not the extension goes ahead. The costs of a tribunal hearing are not included, and each side usually pays its own.
• HM Land Registry. A fee to register the new lease. It is paid separately, and we have not included a figure here.
• Stamp Duty Land Tax. Whether any is due depends on the premium. It is not part of our fee. See the current Stamp Duty Land Tax rates.
• Our legal fee. From £750 + VAT. We confirm our fee in writing before we start.

For the steps behind these costs, read the section 42 process, step by step. Buying a share of freehold instead is another route.

Do you need a solicitor for a lease extension?

The law does not make you use one. The notice has to be right, though, and a mistake can make it invalid. Many leaseholders use a surveyor to value the premium and a solicitor to serve the notice, negotiate the new lease and register it. Our guide to the section 42 process shows where each of them fits.

What are the latest changes to leasehold law in England?

This guide covers England. The position on 27 October 2026, from the government's leasehold toolkit for England and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024:

What is the latest news on the Leasehold Reform Bill for 2026?

The government's leasehold toolkit says it published a draft Bill in January 2026. The valuation-rates consultation closed on 21 October 2026. The new valuation rules cannot start yet, and the government gives two reasons. The toolkit says technical flaws in the 2024 Act must be fixed through new legislation first. The consultation says the government must also set the rates, in later regulations, after it has considered the responses. Neither page gives a start date. Until then, premiums are worked out as in the examples above. We make no predictions about start dates. Our leasehold reform tracker shows what leasehold reform changes, measure by measure.

What happens when a 99-year lease runs out?

When a lease ends, the flat goes back to the freeholder. A lease that began at 99 years has fewer years left every year, and the premium to extend rises as they fall. Our guide to extending a lease, step by step explains the route. If your lease is running down, talk to a solicitor early.

Should you extend now or wait for the law to change?

This is not advice on your flat. The cost rises as the lease gets shorter, and waiting carries a risk. No start date has been given for the new rules. The right choice depends on your lease and your plans, so take advice on your own flat before you decide.

Our offices: London 020 7063 9040 and Leicester 0116 393 0334.

This is general information on the law in England as of 27 October 2026, not advice on your lease. Sources: section 56, section 60 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.