Why it matters
What Leasehold means for a landlord
For a buy-to-let landlord, the lease is as important as the mortgage: it can forbid or restrict subletting, cap the number of occupants, ban pets, or require freeholder consent to let, and breaching it risks forfeiture. A short lease (under about 80 years) is harder to mortgage and expensive to extend because of "marriage value". Always read the lease before buying to let, not after, and check the ground rent terms, since onerous escalating ground rents have made some flats hard to sell or mortgage.
Worked example
How it plays out
Before buying a £180,000 flat to let, Aisha reads the lease. It has 82 years left, a ground rent of £250 rising every 10 years, a £1,900-a-year service charge, and a clause requiring the freeholder’s written consent to sublet. The shortish lease means a future buyer’s lender may hesitate, and extending it later could cost thousands in "marriage value" once it drops below 80 years. The subletting clause means she must obtain consent before letting at all, doing so without it risks forfeiture. She factors the service charge into her yield and negotiates the price down to reflect the lease terms.
Common mistakes
Where landlords go wrong
- 01Letting a leasehold flat without the freeholder’s consent where the lease requires it, a forfeiture risk.
- 02Ignoring a lease under ~80 years, which is harder to mortgage and costly to extend (marriage value).
- 03Not budgeting for service charges and major-works bills, which can run to thousands.
What to do
A short checklist
- Read the lease before buying, check subletting, occupancy, pets and consent clauses.
- Confirm the remaining lease length and the ground rent escalation terms.
- Build the service charge (and a reserve for major works) into your yield calculation.
Sources
Checked against these sources on 16 September 2026. A guide to the rules in England, not legal advice: for a dispute or a possession claim, speak to a solicitor.
