Leasehold

Does the 2022 ground-rent Act cancel the rent on a statutory lease extension?

No. GOV.UK says statutory lease extensions, for houses and for flats, remain unchanged and are exempt from the Act. A statutory extension is not the same document as a new lease granted on or after 30 June 2022, and it is not the same as a voluntary extension, where the guidance says the added years drop to a peppercorn. Your solicitor has to say which route is available.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

Buyers often hear “ground rent is banned” and stop reading. The ban in the Act is aimed at most new leases, with the dates and exceptions GOV.UK sets out. Statutory extensions were carved out. That does not mean a statutory extension is a bad idea. It means you cannot tell your solicitor the rent will vanish because a website summarised the Act in one line.

The home survey still has a job if the flat itself is in poor condition, because a long lease on a leaking building is not a comfort. Ask the surveyor what the common parts and the roof looked like. Ask the solicitor what a statutory extension would actually reserve. Do not let either professional answer the other’s question.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which defects in the flat or the block are independent of how the lease might be extended?
Are you able to see the roof and the common parts that the service charge would have to repair?
What lease question should we take to the solicitor rather than to you?

What are the typical next steps?

Ask the solicitor whether any extension would be statutory or voluntary before you assume the rent becomes a peppercorn.
Read the survey for the building you would be extending the lease on.
Do not exchange on a promise to extend later unless that promise is in a form your solicitor has approved.

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

Can the landlord insist on a voluntary route?

The routes have rules. Ask the solicitor. The surveyor cannot choose the route for you.

Does a peppercorn lease still owe a service charge?

Yes, if the lease says so. Peppercorn ground rent is not a zero service charge. GOV.UK explains service charges separately.