Leasehold

Lease extension and enfranchisement valuations

Leasehold ownership comes with a clock attached. As the unexpired term of a lease shortens — especially once it falls below 80 years — the flat becomes harder to mortgage, harder to sell and progressively more expensive to fix. The good news is that the law gives leaseholders real remedies, and the panel's RICS Registered Valuers work on these cases every week.

The right route depends on your situation. A statutory lease extension under the 1993 Act adds 90 years to a flat's lease and reduces the ground rent to a peppercorn. Where most of the flats in a building want to go further, collective enfranchisement lets leaseholders buy the freehold outright. If your freeholder has disappeared, an absentee freeholder application with a court-granted Vesting Order can still get you your extension or freehold.

Every route starts with the same question: what will it cost? The free Leasehold Calculator gives you an instant estimate of your lease extension premium using the statutory valuation method, so you can budget before instructing a valuer. When you are ready, a panel valuer prepares the formal valuation, and experienced surveyors handle the negotiation — through to the First-tier Tribunal if the freeholder will not agree reasonable terms.

What is a Section 42 notice?

A Section 42 notice is the formal notice that starts a statutory lease extension claim for a flat under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. It names the parties, describes the lease and — critically — states the premium you propose to pay, which is why a lease extension valuation from an RICS Registered Valuer comes first: pitch the figure too low and the notice invites a fight, too high and you have anchored the negotiation against yourself. The freeholder must respond with a counter-notice by the date specified (at least two months later), after which the premium is negotiated between the surveyors — and referred to the First-tier Tribunal if agreement cannot be reached.

What is marriage value?

Marriage value is the extra value released when a short lease and the freehold interest are “married” by a lease extension — and under the statutory valuation regime currently in force, the freeholder is entitled to half of it once the unexpired term falls below 80 years. It is the main reason premiums jump sharply at that threshold, and the single best reason to act before your lease gets there. Leasehold reform legislation is expected to change how premiums are calculated, but the reforms are being phased in — until the new rules take effect, claims are valued under the current regime. The Leasehold Calculator shows how marriage value affects your own estimate.

Fees, timescales and disputes

Leasehold valuation fees are fixed and quoted before you instruct, with the valuation report typically delivered within 3–5 working days of inspection; the statutory claim itself then runs over the months that the notice, counter-notice and negotiation timetable allows. Where a premium ends up before the First-tier Tribunal, the panel's valuation expert witnesses prepare and present the evidence.

Leasehold valuations sit alongside the panel's wider RICS Red Book valuation services, so the same team can also deal with any related matrimonial, probate or mortgage valuation needs.