0:01 AM, 31st October 2025, About a month ago 4
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I own a three-bedroom terraced property with over 900 years remaining on the lease and a nominal ground rent of £15 per annum. My freeholder has asked me to apply for a leasehold enquiry at a cost of £400 and has indicated that the purchase of the freehold alone would cost £10,000, excluding solicitor and associated fees. I believe this figure to be unreasonable.
Under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, the premium payable for acquiring the freehold is primarily based on the capitalised value of the ground rent and the present value of the reversion. Given the exceptionally long lease term, the reversionary value is effectively negligible, and the capitalised ground rent, at a yield of approximately 5–7% would amount to only a few hundred pounds. Moreover, no marriage value applies to leases of such duration.
On this basis, comparable enfranchisement valuations for similar properties with long leases typically fall within the range of £100 to £500. Accordingly, the proposed figure of £10,000 appears to be excessive and inconsistent with standard valuation principles under the Act.
Would like to seek opinion on how I should proceed, and am I able to challenge the unreasonable asking fees for purchasing the freehold?
Many thanks
David
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Neil Patterson
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Member Since February 2011 - Comments: 3445 - Articles: 286
9:39 AM, 31st October 2025, About a month ago
Under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, a long leaseholder of a house has a statutory right to enfranchise (i.e., buy the freehold) if certain criteria are met — which you clearly do.
The premium payable is governed by statutory formulae that depend primarily on:
Ground rent and its capitalised value, and
Reversionary value (i.e., what the freeholder’s interest will be worth when your lease expires).
Because you have 900+ years remaining, the reversionary value is essentially zero (discounted at any realistic yield, the value in present terms is pennies).
So, the only real element is the capitalised value of the £15 annual ground rent.
northern landlord
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Member Since March 2022 - Comments: 349
12:39 PM, 31st October 2025, About a month ago
Up in the North there any many Victorian houses that were on 999 years leases. We have a couple as rental properties. One we know has a ground rent of £10 year but we have never been asked for it as the freeholder is lost in the past somewhere (this applies to a great many of these properties) . The other has a ground rent of £2/year payable to Simarc but they seem to have given up as well, after all the cost of preparing a letter and buying a stamp is a huge chunk of the rent. Maybe they are saving it up but the most you can ever be back charged for ground rent is seven years.
In 900 years time you won’t be here and probably the freeholder won’t be around either (or anybody else the way the world is going). While £15 a year was onerous back in the 1800’s it’s not much now and in one hundred years it will have an equivalent value of a few pence and will not be worth asking for. Then might be a good time for the current leaseholder to ask about buying the freehold.if the freeholder even exists..
The_Maluka
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Member Since May 2015 - Comments: 2080 - Articles: 1
13:25 PM, 31st October 2025, About a month ago
I suggest that you contact the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) and ask it to give you an estimate.
https://www.lease-advice.org/
Richard AA
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Member Since February 2023 - Comments: 13
18:56 PM, 31st October 2025, About a month ago
I think it’s worth asking an independent expert for a valuation. The freeholder has to negotiate with you fairly and reasonably, just as you do with them (hence the need for an independent valuation). If they demand an unreasonable amount, even with that assessment, a tribunal could force them to accept the assessor’s amount and also cover all the costs.