Can the surveyor tell you what it will cost to extend a lease that is under 80 years?

What is the fuller explanation?

Reform of leasehold law has been moving in stages. This page does not guess which bits are in force on a given day. Ask the solicitor to apply the current rules to this lease. Do not subtract a forum’s “lease extension cost” from the price because the survey mentioned the flat.

Condition still matters on a short lease. You might be buying a roof you must repair and a lease you must extend. They are separate cheques. The survey only helps with the first, and only by describing defects, not by pricing them.

What should you ask your surveyor?

• Are you commenting on condition only?
• Do you have the lease term? If not, please do not estimate it.
• Which defects would a short-lease buyer still have to live with?

What are the typical next steps?

1. Ask the solicitor for the unexpired term and for advice on extension.
2. Use the survey for the building, whoever owns the lease.
3. Do not invent a premium from the number 80.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Which pages should you read next?

• If the block has a reserve fund, do you still care about a rating 3 on the roof?
• Does a home survey apply GOV.UK’s £250 and £100 leaseholder consultation figures?
• What should you ask when the builder is still working on the plot during the survey?
• Guide: What should a survey of a leasehold flat cover?
• All UK home survey questions

Sources

• GOV.UK: Right to Shared Ownership (includes the warning that extending a lease can be much more expensive below 80 years)
• GOV.UK: Leasehold property (service charges, Section 20 consultation thresholds, and the right to challenge)
• RICS: RICS Home Surveys (Home Survey Standard)