DATA-BACKED GUIDE · UPDATED JULY 2026
How much does a lease extension cost in the UK?
Extending a flat lease is one of the more expensive pieces of legal work a homeowner runs into, mostly because several costs stack on top of each other. You pay your own solicitor and valuer, the premium to the freeholder, and often the freeholder's costs too. The real prices on this page show what leaseholders have actually paid, not list prices or estimates. Leasehold law is complex and changing, so treat this as general information, not legal advice.
The quick version
- A lease extension has several costs stacked together: your solicitor, your valuer, the premium paid to the freeholder, and often the freeholder's own legal and valuation fees.
- On the formal statutory route you are usually responsible for the freeholder's reasonable costs as well as your own, which is why the total adds up fast.
- An informal extension agreed directly with the freeholder can be lighter on fees but gives you less protection on the terms you end up with.
- The premium, the price for the extra years, is usually the biggest single number and is set by valuation, not negotiated by your solicitor.
- Extending before the lease drops below 80 years matters a lot, because marriage value pushes the premium up sharply once you cross that line.
- Costs vary by lease length, flat value, freeholder type and location, so two flats on the same street can end up with very different bills.
Published and surveyed prices
Where these 8 prices come from — 5 named sources
Each is a published price list, an official survey, or a receipt/quote a reader shared. The full per-price list with year and area is on the lease extension page.
Why the price varies so much
The single biggest factor is how many years are left on the lease, because a short lease means a higher premium and, once you are under 80 years, marriage value is added on top. The value of the flat and the ground rent feed into that premium too, so a small flat in a cheap area and a large one in an expensive area will never cost the same to extend even with an identical number of years left. Then there is the route you take: the formal statutory process gives you set rights but makes you cover the freeholder's costs as well as your own, while an informal deal depends entirely on what the freeholder will agree to and can go either way on price. Who actually owns the freehold matters too. A large corporate freeholder tends to run a fairly standard, businesslike process with predictable fees, while an individual freeholder or a small family-owned block can be quicker and cheaper if they are cooperative, or slower and pricier if they are not. A cooperative freeholder keeps things simple, whereas a dispute that ends up in front of a tribunal is far dearer for everyone involved. Location plays its part as well, with higher flat values in and around London pushing every figure up, from the premium itself to the hourly rates solicitors and valuers charge in that market.
How to pay less
- Act before the lease falls below 80 years, because once marriage value applies the premium jumps and the whole exercise costs more.
- Use a solicitor and valuer who specialise in leasehold work, since a specialist often secures a better premium and avoids costly mistakes that drag out the process.
- Ask your solicitor to estimate the freeholder's costs too, not just their own, so you see the full picture before committing to anything.
- Consider whether an informal deal with a reasonable freeholder saves on fees, weighing that saving against the weaker terms you might end up with.
- If several flats in the block want to extend, ask whether acting together spreads some of the shared valuation and legal costs.
- Get more than one quote before instructing anyone. Fees for the same piece of work vary between firms, and a quick round of quotes costs nothing.
Common questions
Why do I pay the freeholder's legal fees too?
On the formal statutory route the law makes you responsible for the freeholder's reasonable professional costs as well as your own. That means two sets of solicitor and valuation fees, which is a big reason lease extensions feel expensive. The costs do have to be reasonable, so it is worth querying anything that looks steep before you pay it.
What is marriage value and why does 80 years matter?
Marriage value is extra money the freeholder can claim once a lease has under 80 years left, reflecting the uplift in value from a longer lease. It can add a large sum to the premium, so extending while you still have more than 80 years usually works out much cheaper. Leasehold rules in this area have been changing, so check the current position with a specialist before you act.
Should I use the formal or informal route?
The formal statutory route gives you set rights, a fixed number of extra years and a capped ground rent, but you pay the freeholder's costs. An informal deal can be quicker and cheaper on fees, though the terms are whatever you and the freeholder agree, which may be less favourable. Because the sums involved are large, a leasehold specialist is worth the consultation either way.
How is the premium actually worked out?
A valuer looks at the flat's value, the remaining lease length, the ground rent and, where it applies, marriage value, and produces a figure using an accepted valuation method. It is not something your solicitor sets or negotiates directly. If you and the freeholder cannot agree the number, either side can take it to a tribunal, though that route adds its own costs and time.
Can I negotiate the premium down?
Yes, within limits. Your valuer will usually have room to argue for a lower figure than the freeholder's opening position, particularly on assumptions like the flat's value or the ground rent used in the calculation. What you cannot negotiate away is the underlying method the premium is calculated by, so a good valuer matters more than a good negotiator here.
What happens if I just let the lease run down instead of extending?
The shorter the lease gets, the less the flat is worth and the harder it becomes to sell or remortgage, and once you are under 80 years the cost of extending later rises because marriage value kicks in. Waiting rarely saves money. It usually just pushes the same bill further into the future and adds to it.