Leasehold Solicitor Fees: A Complete 2026 Cost Breakdown

Realistic total legal costs for a UK lease extension, including the freeholder's costs you are legally required to pay.

The Full Legal Cost Picture

A statutory lease extension involves more bills than most leaseholders expect. As well as the premium itself, you pay your own solicitor and surveyor, and, under section 60 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, you are also liable for the freeholder's reasonable professional costs. On a modest premium, total fees can be a large fraction of the price of the extension, which is why it pays to understand each line before you start.

The ranges on this page are indicative figures based on typical specialist quotes, not published tariffs. They vary by region, by firm and by how contested the case is, so treat them as a way to sense-check quotes, not as a price list.

Who Pays What

• You pay your own costs: your solicitor, your valuer, and the Land Registry fees for registering the new lease.
• You also pay the freeholder's reasonable costs of three things only: investigating your right to extend, valuing the property, and granting the new lease. They must be costs the freeholder would be prepared to pay if they were footing the bill themselves.
• You do not pay the freeholder's costs of Tribunal proceedings. Section 60 excludes them, and the Tribunal generally makes costs orders only where a party has behaved unreasonably.
• Costs can still be owed if you withdraw. If your notice is withdrawn or treated as withdrawn, you remain liable for the freeholder's reasonable costs incurred up to that point. Agree what you want before you serve the notice.

Your Own Solicitor's Fees

For a standard, uncontested flat extension, expect a specialist leasehold solicitor to quote in the region of £1,200–£2,800 plus VAT. Fees rise where the freeholder is absent or the title is complicated, where there is a dispute over the lease terms, or where the case goes to the First-tier Tribunal (add roughly £2,000–£5,000).

The solicitor will normally prepare and serve the section 42 notice, deal with the freeholder's counter-notice, negotiate the lease terms, handle the transaction through to completion and register the new lease. It is worth asking whether a quote is a fixed fee or an estimate, whether it includes VAT, and what happens if the freeholder goes quiet and an application to the Tribunal or court becomes necessary.

Your Surveyor's Fees

A RICS-registered valuer with enfranchisement experience typically charges a fixed fee of £700–£1,500 for a standard flat. Some quote a percentage of the premium with a fixed minimum, which is worth comparing carefully, because a percentage fee gives the valuer a reason to prefer a higher premium. Tribunal work, expert reports and hearing attendance are charged on top, usually £2,000–£5,000.

The valuation matters more than it looks. The valuation date is the date your section 42 notice is served, and your valuer's figure is the number you will put in that notice and defend in negotiation. See our guide to how the premium is calculated for the components the valuer has to assess.

The Freeholder's Costs That You Must Pay

• Freeholder's solicitor: roughly £800–£2,000
• Freeholder's valuer: roughly £600–£1,200

You cannot refuse to pay costs that are genuinely reasonable, but you do not have to accept an inflated bill. The sensible approach is to ask the freeholder's solicitor for an itemised breakdown with hourly rates and time spent, compare it with the three heads of cost above, and challenge anything outside them. If agreement is impossible, the First-tier Tribunal can determine the reasonable amount of the costs.

Fixed Fee, Hourly Rate or Percentage?

Most specialist firms offer one of three structures:

• Fixed fee: the best for budgeting, provided you know what it covers and what triggers extra charges (for example, a Tribunal application, or a freeholder who does not respond).
• Hourly rate: flexible but open-ended; ask for an estimate, a cap and regular cost updates.
• Percentage of the premium: more common for valuers than solicitors. Be wary of structures where the adviser benefits from a larger premium or a longer dispute.

Whichever you choose, get it in writing before work starts, and ask for a break-down of what happens if the freeholder admits your claim but then drags out negotiations.

Questions to Ask Before You Instruct

1. Is the quote fixed, and does it include VAT and disbursements?
2. Does it cover the section 42 notice, negotiation, drafting the lease and registration?
3. What triggers extra fees, and at what hourly rate?
4. How many statutory extensions has the firm run in the last year, and are they members of a recognised specialist body (such as ALEP)?
5. Who will actually do the work, and who is the contact if something goes wrong?
6. How do you handle an unresponsive or absent freeholder?

Statutory or Informal Extension: Which Costs Less?

The statutory route has a fixed process, but you carry the freeholder's reasonable costs and the formality has a price. An informal, voluntary extension negotiated directly can sometimes cut the process cost, but it removes the legal protection of the statutory timetable and the freeholder can set their own price, so it is only sensible once you have a valuation of what the statutory premium would be. If your lease is above 80 years and the premium is relatively low, fees can be the biggest part of the cost; if it is below 80, marriage value usually dominates (see the 80-year rule).

Will the Rules on Costs Change?

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains provisions that would stop leaseholders paying the freeholder's costs on extension and enfranchisement claims. Those provisions are not yet in force, so the position described above is current law. If you can reasonably wait, check the latest position in our reform tracker, but do not delay an extension on the strength of a change with no commencement date, especially if your lease is close to or below 80 years. See Should I wait or extend now?

How to Keep Costs Down

1. Use a specialist enfranchisement solicitor: they are faster than generalists and know what freeholders can legitimately charge.
2. Get at least two fixed-fee quotes and compare what each covers, not only the headline price.
3. Agree the premium through surveyor-to-surveyor negotiation and avoid the Tribunal where you can.
4. If several flats in the building want to extend, ask about a group arrangement; do not assume it will be cheaper, but it can save on repeated legal work. If most of the building wants to buy the freehold instead, see our collective enfranchisement guide.
5. Ask for an itemised bill from the freeholder's solicitor and challenge anything outside the three permitted heads.