By Elmar Distelhoff, Founder, Property Around London13 min readVerified April 2026
10%
of London homeowners regret buying leasehold
2.5× the UK average
After building Property Around London, I've watched the same question come back from buyers every week. They've found the flat. They love the area. The price stretches them but it works. And then somewhere in the survey, the small print, or a worried message from their solicitor, the word "leasehold" arrives — and suddenly they don't know what they've agreed to.
This guide is for that buyer.
The numbers explain the worry. A 2025 Opinium poll for the HomeOwners Alliance found that 10% of London homeowners now regret buying leasehold. The UK average is 4%. Londoners regret leasehold at two and a half times the national rate — and the reason is structural, not psychological. Most of London's housing is leasehold. The most recent MHCLG data (May 2025) shows that 38% of all London dwellings are leasehold — 1.4 million homes. Look at flats specifically and the figure jumps to 62%. If you're buying a flat in London, the default question isn't freehold or leasehold. It's what kind of leasehold.
Sources: Opinium for HomeOwners Alliance, fieldwork April 2025, n=2,000. MHCLG, Leasehold Dwellings 2023-24 (published May 2025).
A faster version of what leasehold actually is
The basics, in plain language
A freeholder owns the land and the building. A leaseholder owns the right to live in their flat for a long but finite period — typically 99, 125, 250 or 999 years from when the lease was originally granted. In return for that right, the leaseholder pays ground rent and service charges, and accepts the rules of the lease.
For the buyer of a London flat, three things follow from that arrangement, and all three drive the regret data: the lease shortens every year; the freeholder runs the building and the leaseholder pays the bills; and the lease itself is the rule-book — what you can and cannot do, from pets to subletting to what flooring you can lay.
The most important news in 2026
The Reform Act is passed, but not in force. A 2026 buyer signs under the old rules.
Parliament passed the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The most consequential parts of it — abolition of marriage value, the 0.1% ground rent cap, easier lease extensions — were upheld by the High Court in October 2025 against a challenge by landlord groups.
But almost none of those reforms have actually come into force. The Commons Library and the government's own commentary now suggest late 2026 is the earliest realistic commencement window, with 2027 to 2028 increasingly likely. If you are buying a London flat this year or next, you are buying under the old rules.
The practical consequence: the old marriage-value rules still apply to any lease extension you negotiate this year. If you're buying a flat with under 80 years left, you cannot rely on the new regime arriving in time. Don't time a purchase around legislation that may not commence for two years.
May 2024
Royal Assent. Reform Act passes into law but most provisions are not yet commenced.
Oct 2025
High Court dismisses landlord groups' challenge. Reform direction is now legally settled.
Late 2026+
Earliest realistic commencement of major provisions. More likely 2027-2028.
Where leasehold regret concentrates
The five things London leasehold buyers regret
Pulled from the HOA / Opinium regret data, ranked by frequency. The five mechanism chapters below address each one in turn.
Lease length. Buyers who didn't realise their lease was already short, or underestimated how quickly the 80-year cliff approaches.
Ground rent. Buyers who bought into a doubling clause or escalator they didn't fully understand.
Service charges. Buyers who didn't read the last three years of accounts and were surprised by a sudden jump.
Major works. Buyers who didn't notice a pending Section 20 notice and inherited a five-figure bill for a roof or lift overhaul.
Cladding and building safety. Buyers in tall buildings who didn't understand the Building Safety Act protections.
01
Mechanism one
Lease length and the 80-year cliff
The number to know is 80 years. Below it, extension premiums historically rise sharply because of "marriage value" — a quirk of the valuation formula that the 2024 Act abolishes but which still applies until the reforms commence.
A second number to know is 70 years. Most high-street mortgage lenders won't lend on a flat with fewer than 70 years remaining at completion. Many want at least 85 years. A short-leased flat doesn't just cost more to extend — it can also limit who you can sell to.
Three buckets
90+ years remaining: your lease length is not a near-term problem. 80–90 years: factor a future extension into your decade-ahead plan. Under 80 years: obtain a formal lease extension valuation before you exchange — not after.
The statutory route to a lease extension is Section 42 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, which entitles a qualifying leaseholder to an extension of 90 years on top of the current unexpired term, at a peppercorn ground rent. To qualify under the current rules you must have owned the lease for two years — a requirement the 2024 Act removes, but again, not yet.
Specialist valuers will give you a written report for around £500. The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) publishes a free lease extension calculator and operates a phone helpline; for general information, start there.
02
Mechanism two
Ground rent: what to check and what changed in 2022
For any lease granted before 30 June 2022, the ground rent is whatever the original lease says it is. That can be anything: a peppercorn, a flat £100 a year, a £350 rising with RPI, or a clause that doubles every ten or twenty-five years.
Doubling clauses are the ones that catch buyers out. A starting £350 ground rent that doubles every ten years becomes £700 after a decade, £1,400 after twenty, £2,800 after thirty. Beyond a certain point a doubling clause can also cause your lease to lose mortgage eligibility — some lenders refuse leases where ground rent passes specific thresholds in the near term.
For any lease granted on or after 30 June 2022, the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 caps ground rent at one peppercorn — effectively zero. The Act also bans freeholders from charging administration fees for collecting a peppercorn rent, and exposes a breaching landlord to a financial penalty of £500–£30,000.
Two questions to ask, in writing
What is the ground rent today?
How does it change over the life of the lease — flat, RPI-linked, doubling clause, or stepped escalator?
The 2024 Act, when commenced, will cap ground rent on existing leases at 0.1% of the property's value — a hard ceiling. Until that's in force, the old clauses stand.
03
Mechanism three
Service charges: read the last three years before you read the asking price
The service charge is where most leasehold regrets become a five-figure bill. In principle it's the building's running cost divided by the leaseholders — covering insurance, communal repairs, lighting, cleaning, lift maintenance, gardening, managing agent fees, and a reserve fund contribution.
Your conveyancer will ask the seller's solicitor for the last three years of service charge accounts as a matter of routine. Don't trust that they've been read. Read them yourself.
Two charts worth drawing on the back of an envelope
The year-on-year trend in total service charge. A 10% rise is unremarkable in 2026; a 40% rise is a question.
The reserve fund balance over the same period. If reserves are being drawn down without being replenished, the building is heading toward a Section 20 — see below.
Two further things to ask the managing agent in writing: whether the building has any pending Section 20 consultations, and whether the most recent statutory accounts have been signed off without qualification. The managing agent has to respond to a leaseholder request within statutory time limits; getting these answers before you exchange should not be a fight.
04
Mechanism four
Section 20: the major-works rule that protects you
Major works are the big, infrequent jobs — new roof, lift overhaul, full window replacement, exterior repainting. They're funded by service charge, but the law requires the freeholder to consult leaseholders before charging them.
The trigger threshold is £250 per leaseholder. If any single leaseholder's share of a planned works programme is going to exceed £250, the freeholder must serve a Section 20 notice under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) and follow a three-stage consultation. If they skip the process, leaseholders can refuse to pay more than the £250 cap unless a tribunal grants dispensation.
The £250 figure has been unchanged for over two decades. The government has consulted on raising and modernising it, but at the time of writing the threshold remains £250. The practical effect is that almost any significant works programme in a London block will trigger Section 20.
What this means for the buyer
Ask the seller's solicitor whether a Section 20 notice has been served in the last 24 months, or is anticipated in the next 12. A "yes" is not necessarily a deal-breaker — a newly re-roofed building is a buying point, not a worry. The deal-breaker is finding out about the £18,000 bill after you've exchanged.
05
Mechanism five
The Building Safety Act: the cladding question every buyer needs to ask
The Building Safety Act 2022 was passed in the aftermath of Grenfell to ensure leaseholders in tall buildings with combustible cladding wouldn't be left holding remediation costs. The leaseholder protection provisions came into force on 28 June 2022.
The Act's leaseholder protection provisions apply to "relevant buildings" as defined in Section 117 — broadly, residential or mixed-use buildings of at least 11 metres or 5 storeys, with at least 2 dwellings where leaseholders do not have an interest in the freehold. Separately, taller buildings of at least 18 metres or 7 storeys are also classed as "higher-risk buildings" and must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator.
If your lease is a "qualifying lease" (broadly, a long lease of your principal home granted before 14 February 2022), the Act protects you from all cladding remediation costs in a relevant building. The freeholder cannot pass cladding costs on to you through service charge.
For non-cladding building safety defects, qualifying leaseholders are protected by a cap that spreads liability over ten years; if costs exceed the cap, the freeholder makes up the difference.
The London exemption
If, on 14 February 2022, your flat had a value of less than £325,000 in Greater London (£175,000 elsewhere in England), you are exempt from all historical remediation costs — even on a non-qualifying lease.
A 2026 buyer needs three pieces of paper before exchange in any building of relevant size: the EWS1 form (if applicable), confirmation of any building-safety remediation underway or planned, and the freeholder's declaration of how costs are being apportioned. Your conveyancer should request all three as standard.
Your statutory options
Right to manage and collective enfranchisement, in two sentences each
Right to manage (RTM) is a statutory route for leaseholders to take over management of their block without buying the freehold. You need at least half the leaseholders to participate, and the building must qualify (most do).
Collective enfranchisement is the more ambitious option: leaseholders together buy the freehold from the existing freeholder. It's expensive and complex, but it removes the freeholder problem at the root.
Neither is something a buyer needs to do at the point of purchase. But both are worth knowing exist — if the building has a difficult freeholder or a hostile managing agent, leaseholders have legal options.
The shortlist
The pre-exchange checklist
Before you exchange contracts on any London leasehold flat, you should have written confirmation from the seller's solicitor of every item below. If you cannot get a clean answer to any of them, slow the process down until you do.
1
The lease length remaining as of completion.
2
The current annual ground rent and the exact wording of any escalator clause.
3
The last three years of service charge accounts and the current year's budget.
4
The current reserve fund balance and contribution rate.
5
Any Section 20 notice served in the last 24 months, or anticipated in the next 12.
6
Whether the building falls within the Building Safety Act 2022 scope, and the EWS1 status if so.
7
Whether any cladding or building-safety remediation is underway, planned, or completed.
8
The identity of the freeholder and the managing agent, with contact details.
9
The existence and contact details of any residents' association or RTM company.
10
Unusual restrictions in the lease — pet clauses, alteration restrictions, subletting restrictions, flooring rules.
11
Confirmation that the lease is currently mortgageable on standard high-street terms.
12
A plain-English summary from your conveyancer of the three biggest risks specific to this lease.
Where to get specialist help
Three resources worth knowing
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) is government-funded and free. They publish guidance, run a free lease extension calculator, and have an advisor phone line. If you need general information rather than casework, start here.
The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) is the trade body for specialist leasehold solicitors and valuers. If your lease is short, your building is complicated, or you are facing enfranchisement, ALEP's member directory is the right place to look.
For ongoing disputes, the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) is the statutory route. Most cases can be brought without a solicitor, but representation helps for complex matters.
Yes — the most recent MHCLG data shows 62% of London flats are leasehold (2022-23 release), the highest proportion of any English region. London also has the highest overall leasehold share — 38% of all London dwellings, or roughly 1.4 million homes, per the May 2025 release.
What is a "short lease" and why does it matter? +
Conventionally, any lease under 80 years remaining is considered short. Below 80 years, the law currently applies "marriage value" to a lease extension — a valuation adjustment that has historically increased the premium sharply. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 abolishes marriage value, but most provisions are not yet in force and are not expected to commence until late 2026 at earliest. Most high-street lenders also won't lend on a flat with fewer than 70 years remaining at completion.
Who pays for cladding remediation in London? +
For qualifying leaseholders in a "relevant building" under the Building Safety Act 2022 (broadly, residential or mixed-use buildings of at least 11 metres or 5 storeys with at least 2 dwellings where leaseholders don't hold the freehold), the freeholder is responsible for cladding remediation costs. Schedule 8 of the Act protects qualifying leaseholders from these costs being passed through service charge.
Has the Leasehold Reform Act 2024 come into force? +
Most core provisions have not yet commenced. The Act received Royal Assent in May 2024 and the High Court upheld its key reforms (abolition of marriage value, 0.1% ground rent cap) in October 2025 against challenges from landlord groups — but implementation remains delayed. Industry consensus points to late 2026 at earliest, with 2027–28 increasingly likely. A 2026 buyer signs under the old rules.
What is Section 20 and why does it matter to a buyer? +
Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002) requires freeholders to consult leaseholders before charging them more than £250 each for major works. If a Section 20 notice is pending or has been served within the last 24 months, you could inherit a five-figure share of works costs after you complete. Always ask the seller's solicitor for the current Section 20 status before exchange.
Should I avoid leasehold entirely in London? +
In practice, no — most London flats are leasehold (62% per MHCLG data), so avoiding the tenure entirely massively narrows your options. The HOA / Opinium April 2025 research shows the regret rate is meaningfully higher (10% in London vs 4% nationally), so the homework is non-negotiable: lease length, ground rent, service charge history, Section 20 status, and Building Safety Act exposure should all be confirmed in writing before you exchange.
Don't end up in the 51%
The one-evening pre-offer checklist
PAL has built a printable pre-offer companion covering all five regret categories — area, cost, leasehold, space, new build — with thirty-six checks pulled from the deeper cluster guides. Section 3 runs the twelve leasehold checks above as a printable working copy. Take it to viewings. Tick the boxes as you go.
The London Buyer's Regret cluster
The rest of the campaign
This is one of four cluster guides. The pillar piece sits above them as the overview; the other three cluster guides go deep on the remaining regret categories.