Short lease flats leave homeowners facing a £48,250 hit when they come to sell
The latest research from House Buyer Bureau has found that homeowners selling a flat with a short lease face an average asking price that is -22.1% lower than the wider flat market across England, reducing the value of a typical sale by £48,250. In Yorkshire and the Humber, the discount rises to 35.2%, underlining how a diminishing lease can become a costly obstacle when it comes time to sell.
House Buyer Bureau analysed current market listings of short lease flats across England and compared their asking prices with the latest average price for a flat (May 2026 latest available). The research examined how much less short lease flats are being marketed for compared with the wider flat market across each English region, as well as where these properties are most commonly found.*
Unlike many factors that influence property values, a short lease doesn’t just reduce the price a seller can expect to achieve, it can also make a property considerably harder to sell. Many mortgage lenders impose minimum lease requirements, meaning the shorter the lease, the smaller the pool of buyers able to proceed. Those who remain are also likely to factor the future cost of extending the lease into any offer they make.
Across England, the average short lease flat is currently listed for £170,201, compared with a wider average flat price of £218,451. This marks a short lease shortfall of -22.1%, or £48,250.
The biggest price gap is found in Yorkshire and the Humber, where short lease flats are marketed at an average of £82,675, some 35.2% below the regional average flat price of £127,668. The North East follows with a discount of 32.7%, while sellers in the East of England and West Midlands are typically marketing their flats for 30.7% and 30.1% less than the regional average respectively.
At the other end of the scale, London records the smallest discount. Despite having one of the largest numbers of short lease flats currently on the market, the average asking price is 11% below the wider flat market, reflecting the capital’s stronger demand for apartment living.
The challenge for homeowners is that the financial impact doesn’t stop there. While qualifying leaseholders have the legal right to extend their lease, the cost typically exceeds £12,500 for leases approaching 100 years remaining and can rise to more than £33,000 where fewer than 60 years remain. Many sellers therefore face a difficult choice between paying thousands of pounds to improve the property’s marketability or accepting a substantial discount to secure a sale.
Managing director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: “One of the biggest misconceptions is that a short lease only affects the value of your flat. In reality, it can affect whether you’re able to sell it at all.
We regularly hear from homeowners who only discover their lease has become a problem once they put their property on the market. Buyers struggle to secure a mortgage, sales fall through and what should have been a straightforward move becomes a lengthy and frustrating process.
The longer a lease is left, the more expensive it usually becomes to extend, while at the same time attracting fewer buyers. That leaves many sellers caught between spending thousands of pounds before they can move, or accepting a much lower offer than they expected.
When people need to sell because they’re relocating, dealing with probate, separating from a partner or facing financial pressures, waiting months to find the right buyer often isn’t an option. A professional cash buyer removes many of those barriers because the sale isn’t reliant on mortgage lending or a buyer being comfortable with the remaining lease length, providing homeowners with the speed and certainty they need.”
Data tables and sources