Leasehold properties are set to be valued assuming all leases have 99 years left, which means homes worth under £2million are in danger of being caught up by Labour’s ‘mansion tax’.
Properties with shorter leases tend to be devalued, by as much as 30%.
From 2028 homes valued at more than £2million will be liable for bills of £2,500 per year, rising to £7,500 for properties worth over £5million.
Laura Hooke, partner at Morr & Co, said: “Whilst 80 years has often been considered the magic number when determining whether a lease is of an acceptable length, to prevent an effect on market value, lenders are becoming more discerning on this point, with Nationwide refusing to lend in some instances on leases with less than 90 years remaining.
“A short lease can reduce value considerably, indeed I recently acted on the purchase of a flat in prime central London with just seven years of the lease remaining, where a price of just over 10% of what would likely have been achieved with an extended lease was paid. This is an exceptional example but one that owners of such properties would be wise to take note of.
“Owners of such properties should consider looking at lease extensions sooner rather than later, particularly given that the statutory process can become protracted if freeholders are not quick to respond.
“Whilst a longer lease won’t prevent the surcharge being levied, it will protect the value of the property.”