Your lease has dropped below 80 years.
Most buyers won’t touch it now. Banks refuse mortgages. Estate agents shake their heads.
But here’s what they don’t tell you.
Short-lease properties sell every single day across the UK. I’ve handled many of these exact sales myself.
The trick is knowing who buys them.
Cash buyers love short lease flats. They see cheap prices where others see problems.
In this guide, I’ll show you three ways to sell your short-lease property. Each route works for different situations and budgets.
You’ll discover which option gets you the most money. And which one gets you out fastest.
- What is a Short Lease and Why Does it Matter?
- How Short Leases Affect Your Property Price
- Should You Extend the Lease Before Selling?
- Problems Selling Short-Lease Properties Normally
- Your Options for Selling Short-Lease Properties
- Why Cash Sales Work for Short Lease Properties
- How Property Buyers Today Handles Short Lease Sales
What is a Short Lease and Why Does it Matter?
A short lease means you have less than 80 years left on your property.
I’ve seen flat owners panic when they realize their lease is running out. Most flats and some houses are leasehold, which means you own the property but rent the land underneath. The lease tells you how long you can stay.
Freehold means you own everything forever. Leasehold means you have a time limit.
Short leases make your property worth much less money. Banks won’t lend on properties with very short leases because they lose value quickly.
When leases get really short:
- Under 80 years – problems start
- Under 70 years – big value drops
- Under 60 years – very hard to sell
- Under 30 years – almost worthless
Selling property with a short lease becomes much harder as time runs out. Buyers worry about expensive lease extensions and future problems.
Extending a lease costs thousands and takes months. Many sellers can’t afford this before selling.
How Short Leases Affect Your Property Price
Short leases can cut your property value by thousands.
I’ve watched flat values drop by 20-50% when leases get under 70 years. Banks refuse mortgages on properties with very short leases because they’re too risky. The worth of your house falls fast as the lease time runs out.
Buyers get scared when they see lease extension costs. Extensions can cost £10,000-£50,000, depending on your property value.
House surveys flag short leases as big problems. Surveyors warn buyers about future costs and risks.
What hurts your price:
- Value drops every year
- No bank loans available
- Expensive extension costs
- High ground rent fees
- Rising service charges
Ground rent and service charges keep going up, too. This puts buyers off because they worry about ongoing costs.
Cash buyers become your main option with short leases. They expect big discounts but can complete sales without mortgage delays.
Should You Extend the Lease Before Selling?
Short leases make flats much harder to sell and worth less money. When your lease gets below 90 years, buyers start to worry about it.
You need to decide if extending the lease first is worth the cost and the wait.
Cost of Lease Extension Versus Lower Selling Price
Extending a lease can cost £5,000 to £50,000 or even more.
The exact cost depends on how many years are left and how much your flat is worth. Shorter leases cost much more to extend than longer ones. Very valuable flats also cost more to extend.
Flats with short leases sell for much less money.
A flat with 60 years left might sell for 20% less than one with 999 years. Banks won’t give mortgages on very short leases, so only cash buyers can afford them. This means fewer people want to buy your flat.
Extending the lease usually adds more value than it costs. But it does mean you need to find the money up front, which isn’t always ideal.
How Long Lease Extensions Take to Complete
Lease extensions take 6 months to 2 years to complete.
You have to serve legal notices on your freeholder first. They get time to respond and negotiate the price with you. If you can’t agree, the case goes to a special court called a tribunal.
Some freeholders try to delay the process on purpose.
They might ignore your letters or ask for lots of extra information. This can make the whole thing take much longer than it should. You can’t sell your flat while the extension process is still going on.
Your Legal Right to Extend and Freeholder Cooperation
You have the legal right to extend your lease if you’ve owned the flat for 2 years.
The freeholder has to agree to extend it, but they can’t just say no for no reason. They can negotiate the price but must follow strict legal rules. Some freeholders are helpful, others make things difficult.
You need a specialist solicitor to handle the legal paperwork.
The lease extension law is very complicated and has strict deadlines. Making mistakes can cost you thousands of pounds or ruin your chances. Good solicitors know how to deal with difficult freeholders.
When Extension Makes Financial Sense
Extend your lease if it has less than 85 years left.
Flats with short leases are very hard to sell through normal estate agents. Most banks won’t give mortgages on leases under 70 years. Even leases under 90 years put off many buyers.
Don’t extend if you need to sell very quickly.
The extension process takes too long if you need to move for work or family reasons. Sometimes, there are things you shouldn’t fix when selling because buyers expect lower prices anyway. Quick sale companies can buy short-lease flats without extensions.
Marriage Value Costs if Lease is Under 80 Years
Leases under 80 years trigger something called marriage value.
This is extra money you have to pay the freeholder when extending the lease. The shorter the lease, the higher the marriage value you pay. This can add tens of thousands to your extension costs.
Marriage value is split 50-50 between you and the freeholder.
If extending your lease adds £40,000 to the flat’s value, you pay the freeholder £20,000 in marriage value. This is on top of the basic extension cost. Leases over 80 years don’t have any marriage value to pay.
Act quickly if your lease is close to 80 years to avoid these extra costs.
Problems Selling Short-Lease Properties Normally
Selling a flat with a short lease is really hard work. Most people don’t understand leases and get scared when they see low numbers.
This makes selling take much longer and causes lots of problems.
Most Buyers Can’t Get Mortgages on Short Leases
Banks won’t give loans for flats with very short leases.
Most banks refuse mortgages if the lease has less than 70 years left. Some banks won’t lend on leases under 85 or 90 years. They worry the flat will lose value as the lease gets shorter.
This cuts out most normal buyers who need bank loans.
Only people with lots of cash can buy short-lease flats without mortgages. Very few people have enough money saved up to buy flats with cash. This means you get hardly any people interested in buying your flat.
Estate Agents Struggle to Market Short-Lease Flats
Many estate agents don’t want to sell flats with short leases.
These properties are much harder to sell and take up lots of their time. Some agents don’t understand how leases work, so they can’t explain things to buyers. They prefer easy sales that happen quickly.
The agents who will help often don’t know enough about lease problems.
They can’t answer buyers’ questions about extension costs or legal rights. This makes house viewings go badly because buyers leave feeling worried. Many agents also struggle to price short-lease flats correctly.
Legal Complications and Extra Solicitor Costs
Short lease sales need specialist solicitors who cost more money.
Normal house solicitors often don’t understand lease law properly. You need experts who know about lease extensions, ground rent, and service charges. These specialist solicitors charge higher fees than normal ones.
The legal paperwork is much more complicated, too.
Buyers’ solicitors ask lots of extra questions about the lease and the freeholder. They want to see all the building’s legal documents and accounts. This takes much longer than normal house sales and often causes delays.
Survey Issues That Put Buyers Off
Property surveys always mention short lease problems.
Surveyors write warnings about lease length and extension costs in their reports. They tell buyers the flat might lose value as the lease gets shorter. Many surveys recommend not buying without extending the lease first.
These survey reports scare buyers away very quickly.
Most people cancel buying after reading about lease problems and high extension costs. Even buyers who knew about the short lease get worried when they see it written in official survey reports.
Sales Falling Through at the Last Minute
Lots of short lease sales fail just before completion.
Buyers pull out when they finally understand the full cost of extending the lease. Banks sometimes refuse mortgages at the last minute after checking the lease details properly. Insurance companies might not cover flats with very short leases either.
Each failed sale means starting over with new buyers.
This costs you more money in legal fees and survey costs. If you’re wondering why your house isn’t selling, the short lease could be stopping all your sales.
Short-lease flats can sit empty for many months or even years without selling.
Your Options for Selling Short-Lease Properties
Here are 3 ways to sell a house with damp problems…
Estate Agents
The normal way to sell gets tricky when you have damp:
- How long: 12-18 months (takes way longer – people don’t want damp houses)
- 2 out of 3 sales fall through (most people change their mind when they see the damp)
- You need agents who understand damp and know how to fix it
- You’ll pay for:
- Agent fees (up to 3%)
- Lawyer bills (up to £4,000)
- Damp checks by experts (£300-£800)
- Fixing the damp and treating walls (£1,000-£8,000)
- Better air flow to stop damp coming back (£500-£3,000)
- Not many buyers want houses with damp
Property Buyers Today
Got damp that makes selling hard? We can help:
- We buy in 7 days
- No banks involved and no damp rules to worry about
- What we give you:
- No fees to pay
- We handle lawyers
- No house visits – we buy damp houses just as they are
- No fixing bills – we take care of all damp work
- We know about damp and how to sort it out
- Date you can trust
- The deal: Get up to 85% of your house value (often works out better after you add up fixing costs and waiting time)
Cash house buyers like Property Buyers Today know all about damp and do everything for you.
Property Auction
Auctions bring people who want to fix damp houses:
- Time needed: 3-4 months
- Sold straight away when bidding stops
- Things to know:
- House sold as is – buyers can see the damp
- Builders show up, plus damp fixing companies
- Perfect for big jobs – gets people who can handle it
- Must tell everyone about the damp in all the papers
- Wait 4-8 weeks until auction day
- Wait 28 days after to finish
- Costs to join (up to £1,000)
- Auction house keeps some money (up to 6%)
- All damp details must be shared with buyers
Check out our guide on selling a house at auction to see how this works with damp houses.
Why Cash Sales Work for Short Lease Properties
Cash buyers don’t need bank loans, so short leases don’t stop them.
I’ve helped flat owners sell quickly without expensive lease extensions first. Banks won’t lend on short lease properties, but cash buyers can complete in weeks. You don’t need to spend thousands extending your lease before selling.
Cash sales happen fast without delays. No mortgage problems or long waits slow things down.
Cash buyers give fair prices that account for short lease issues. They understand extension costs and include them in their offers.
Your sale becomes certain with cash buyers. Normal buyers often pull out when they learn about lease problems.
Why cash buyers help:
- No bank loan rejections
- Quick sales in 2-3 weeks
- Fair prices despite short lease
- No marketing struggles
Cash house buyers specialize in short lease properties. They buy flats that other people find too difficult to purchase.
How Property Buyers Today Handles Short Lease Sales
We understand it’s not always possible to extend a lease before selling.
If you’re having issues and you want peace of mind with a smooth, quick sale, then here are some reasons we may work for you…
Speed
Most house sales take months, but we can buy your property in as little as 7 days.
This quick process is perfect if you need to move soon or want to avoid being stuck in a long chain of buyers and sellers. We have the cash on hand so don’t need to wait for mortgages or a chain to collapse.
Guaranteed Sale
Did you know 1 in 3 sales fall through on the open market?
We know how frustrating it is to get 6 months into a process and have a buyer pull out.
When we give you the final price for your house, that’s the amount you’ll get. Guaranteed!
No Costs
You won’t face any costs with us.
We handle all the expenses involved in buying your property, including legal fees and surveys. You get cash in your bank when the sale is complete, and there are no surprise estate agent commissions to worry about.
No Stress Or Hassle
Our team supports you through the whole selling process.
We keep you updated about what’s happening and answer any questions quickly. You’ll always understand what’s going on with your sale and what happens next.
Free Property Valuation
Our property experts will value your house at no cost to you.
They look carefully at your property and check local market prices to give you an accurate figure. This professional service comes with no obligations.
No Viewings Required
Forget about cleaning and tidying for viewings.
We don’t need multiple visits or open houses to make our offer. This means no strangers walking through your home, and no disruption to your daily life.
All Properties Welcome
Whether your house needs work or is in perfect condition, we’ll buy it.
We have experience with all types of properties and conditions. This means you can sell your house to us no matter what state it’s in.
Professional Legal Service
Our expert team manages all the legal requirements for you.
We work with experienced property lawyers who make sure everything runs smoothly, and put your property at the top of their list. This gives you peace of mind that your sale is being handled properly from start to finish.
