Marriage Value in Lease Extensions — What It Was and Why It Has Been Abolished

What Was Marriage Value?

Marriage value was a concept unique to English leasehold law. When a flat's lease fell below 80 years, the act of extending the lease created a measurable uplift in the property's market value — the "marriage" of the short leasehold interest with the extended leasehold interest produced a combined value greater than the sum of its parts.

Under the law as it stood before 2024, the freeholder was entitled to 50% of this uplift as part of the lease extension premium. This meant that leaseholders with short leases often faced premiums far higher than the underlying valuation components (ground rent capitalisation and reversion value) would suggest.

A Concrete Example

Suppose a flat was worth £350,000 with a 72-year lease and £400,000 after extension. The marriage value was:

> £400,000 (extended value) − £350,000 (short lease value) = £50,000 marriage value

> Freeholder's share: 50% = £25,000

That £25,000 would be added to the premium on top of the capitalisation and reversion components. For properties in London and the South East, marriage value additions of £40,000–£80,000 or more were not uncommon.

Why Was It Criticised?

Marriage value attracted sustained criticism from leaseholder groups, the Law Commission, and housing charities for several reasons:

• It created a sharp financial cliff at 80 years, incentivising freeholders to delay proceedings in hopes of the lease dipping below the threshold
• It disproportionately affected leaseholders who had bought properties without understanding the implications of short leases
• It generated significant windfall income for freeholders without any corresponding expenditure or loss on their part
• The 80-year trigger was arbitrary and the calculation methodology was disputed at tribunal with considerable cost and delay

The Law Commission's Recommendation

The Law Commission's 2020 report on leasehold enfranchisement recommended abolishing marriage value entirely, concluding that it had no sound policy justification and acted as an unjustified transfer of wealth from leaseholder to freeholder.

The 2024 Abolition

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, abolished marriage value for all residential lease extensions. This applies regardless of the remaining lease term — there is no longer any financial penalty for having a lease below 80 years in terms of this premium component.

The change applies to both the statutory (1993 Act) route and informal extensions agreed directly with the freeholder.

Impact on Premiums

For leaseholders with leases between 60 and 80 years, the saving is substantial. As a rough guide:

• Flat worth £250,000, 70 years remaining: saving of approximately £15,000–£25,000
• Flat worth £400,000, 65 years remaining: saving of approximately £30,000–£50,000
• Flat worth £600,000, 72 years remaining: saving of approximately £45,000–£75,000

These are indicative figures only. Use our [Lease Extension Calculator](/lease-extension-calculator) to estimate the premium under current rules for your specific property, and instruct a RICS surveyor for a formal valuation.

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