Estimate the premium paid into court and add your own cost quotes.
When you cannot find your landlord, the court can grant a vesting order and the premium is paid into court. Estimate the premium and add your own cost quotes.
If the freeholder of your flat cannot be found, you can still extend. Section 50 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 lets the court make a vesting order that grants you the new lease in place of the missing landlord, and the premium is paid into court. In a recent tribunal decision on a London flat, the process was a Part 8 claim for a vesting order in the county court, an order for advertisements in the London Gazette and in local and national newspapers, and a First-tier Tribunal decision on the premium, made on paper without a hearing.
The calculator estimates the premium the tribunal would set using the same statutory method as our lease extension calculator: capitalised ground rent, reversion at 5% and, when 80 years or fewer remain, 50% of marriage value. Unlike our other tools it lets you change the rate used to capitalise ground rent. The tribunal decision above used 7%, and a higher rate lowers the value of the ground rent. If you add unpaid ground rent or service charge, the tool adds it to the sum paid into court, as the amount paid in can include arrears.
The tool does not guess your costs. Tracing, court and advertising costs and professional fees vary with the case, so you enter the quotes you have and it adds them to the premium.
These premium estimates use the calculator’s method with a 5% rate and the ground rent shown, before any costs.
| Flat value | Years left | Ground rent | Estimated premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | 60 years | £10 | £32,051 |
| £350,000 | 70 years | £150 | £30,884 |
| £450,000 | 75 years | £250 | £32,069 |
| £600,000 | 78 years | £250 | £36,184 |
| Stage | Who decides | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiries | You and your solicitor | A record that reasonable steps were taken to find the landlord |
| Vesting order application | County court (Part 8 claim) | Directions, advertising and then a vesting order |
| Premium and lease terms | First-tier Tribunal | The premium and an approved draft lease |
| Payment and completion | You, through the court | The new lease with a peppercorn ground rent and 90 years added |
In the decision we reviewed (a flat with a freehold value of about £318,000, a 7% ground rent rate and 81% relativity) the tribunal fixed the premium at £38,850. Your figure will depend on your own facts.
Sources
Related guides
You can still extend. You apply to the county court for a vesting order under section 50 of the 1993 Act after making reasonable inquiries, and the tribunal then sets the premium, which is paid into court.
The First-tier Tribunal. It decides on expert valuation evidence, using the same statutory method as any other lease extension.
Yes. The vesting order grants a new lease on the statutory terms, which adds 90 years to the unexpired term and reduces the ground rent to a peppercorn.
The premium, your solicitor and valuer, tracing and advertising costs, and court and tribunal fees. The amounts vary with the case, so get quotes. This calculator adds the quotes you enter to the premium.
It is slower than a normal extension because of the search and advertising stages. In the decision we reviewed the claim was issued in February 2024 and the tribunal decided in July 2025.
This calculator was built and is maintained by Rahul Tandon, an independent web developer and researcher. It applies published statutory rules and the 5% Sportelli deferment rate, and every assumption is shown on this page. The formulas and limits are on the methodology page; see our editorial policy. LeaseVault is not a law firm, a surveying practice or a mortgage broker, and the result is an estimate for initial budgeting, not legal, financial or valuation advice.
We’ll notify you when 2024 Act provisions come into force and when new premium rates are confirmed.