Remortgaging a leasehold flat is not always the formality it is for a freehold house. Lenders reassess your lease as if you were a new buyer, so a term or ground rent clause that was fine when you first bought can suddenly become a problem. Here is what to check before you apply.
When you remortgage, your new lender assesses the property exactly as it would for a fresh purchase, applying its current leasehold lending policy rather than whatever policy applied when you first bought. If lending criteria have tightened, or your lease has quietly drifted below a key threshold since your last mortgage, you may find fewer lenders willing to offer you a deal, or a more limited choice of rates.
This catches people out because nothing about the flat itself has changed. The risk is entirely to do with the passage of time on your lease.
Most mainstream lenders want the lease to run for a set number of years beyond the end of the mortgage term, not just today. A common requirement is 30 to 40 years remaining after your mortgage ends, though this varies by lender.
| Remaining lease | Typical position |
|---|---|
| Over 100 years | Rarely an issue for any lender. |
| 80–100 years | Usually fine, but check the lease still clears the term-plus-mortgage rule for longer mortgage terms. |
| Under 80 years | Marriage value applies to any future extension, and some lenders start declining or pricing more cautiously. |
| Under 70 years | Many high-street lenders will decline outright; you may be limited to specialist lenders. |
Even if your lease length is comfortable, an onerous ground rent clause can still cause problems on remortgage. Lenders have become increasingly cautious about:
If your lease predates the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022, it is worth checking your ground rent clause carefully before you apply, since older leases are more likely to carry these terms.
Your new lender will instruct a valuation, and the surveyor will factor in the lease term, ground rent and any known building issues. For buildings over 11 metres, they may also ask whether an EWS1 form or Leaseholder Deed of Certificate is available before confirming the valuation — see our cladding & building safety guide for what this involves.
If a previous valuation flagged concerns, or your building has open remediation works, it is worth speaking to your broker before applying so they can identify lenders who are comfortable with your specific situation.
Ask your current lender for a "product transfer" quote as a fallback. Product transfers do not usually require a full reassessment of the lease, so they can be a useful safety net if a full remortgage looks difficult.
If your lease is approaching or below 80 years, it is usually worth getting a lease extension premium estimate before you apply. Extending first can widen your choice of lender, secure a better rate, and avoid the value of your flat being dragged down by a shortening term.
The trade-off is timing: the statutory lease extension process typically takes four to twelve months, so if your current deal is due to expire soon, you may need to weigh a short-term product transfer against starting an extension straight away.
Before you apply, use our free tools to understand your position:
Estimate the premium to extend your lease before your lender's valuation is instructed.
Launch Tool →Check whether your ground rent clause is likely to concern a mortgage lender.
Launch Tool →Benchmark your service charge — surveyors sometimes flag unusually high charges during a remortgage valuation.
Launch Tool →Read our guide on buying the freehold too — if you and your neighbours own the freehold outright, ground rent and lease length concerns disappear entirely. Prefer to keep the freehold as is? Our Right to Manage guide covers a lighter-touch alternative.