Marriage value is the most misunderstood and most expensive element of a lease extension premium for short leases. Learn exactly what it is, how it is calculated, and when the 2024 Act will abolish it.
Marriage value is the increase in the combined worth of the leasehold and freehold interests that results from merging them through a lease extension. The extra value created is split 50/50 between the parties. It is payable only when the unexpired lease is below 80 years.
Marriage value is the reason an extension costing £8,000 with 81 years remaining might cost £22,000 with 79 years remaining — for the exact same property and the exact same transaction.
MV = 0.5 x (Value of extended leasehold minus Current leasehold value minus Freeholder's reversion minus GR capitalisation)
Property freehold value: £400,000 | Unexpired lease: 72 years | Ground rent: £200/yr
Yes, in principle. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 proposes to abolish marriage value, which would be transformative for leaseholders with short leases. However, this provision requires secondary legislation and is not yet in force. There is no confirmed implementation date.
If abolition is implemented, a leaseholder with a 70-year lease could save £15,000–£30,000+ compared to current rules. But if that legislation is 2–3 years away and your lease shortens further in the interim, additional depreciation costs may cancel out the saving. Seek specialist surveyor advice before deciding.
Marriage value calculations are a major battleground between surveyors. The key dispute is usually the relativity percentage applied to the current short lease. Freeholders argue for lower relativity, meaning more marriage value. Having a specialist surveyor with access to current Tribunal comparables is essential to achieving a fair result.
Marriage value is the extra premium payable when extending a lease that has less than 80 years remaining. It represents 50% of the increase in combined value that results from merging the leasehold and freehold interests through the extension. The concept is that extending a short lease creates additional value — and the freeholder is entitled to half of that gain.
Marriage value applies when the unexpired term of the lease is below 80 years at the date of the Section 42 notice. It does not apply at 80 years or above. This is a hard threshold in law — a lease with 80 years and one day remaining has zero marriage value; the same lease one day later triggers the full calculation.
It varies widely with property value and lease length. On a £400,000 flat with 75 years remaining, marriage value might add £8,000–£18,000. On a £800,000 flat with 65 years remaining, marriage value can add £40,000–£80,000. The shorter the lease and the higher the property value, the greater the marriage value component.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes provisions to abolish marriage value. However, these require further secondary legislation and are not yet in force as of June 2026. There is no confirmed implementation date. Leaseholders with leases below 80 years should not delay their extension on the assumption that abolition will happen soon — the cost of waiting outweighs the potential saving in most cases.
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