Ground rent
Ground rent increases
For leases granted before 30 June 2022, your landlord can only increase your ground rent by the amount that it says in your lease.
How ground rent increases are calculated
Your lease will say how much your ground rent can increase, and how often.
It might be a fixed amount throughout the length of the lease. But it’s common for ground rent to increase by a set amount at certain times. For example, you might have a 99 year lease with an initial ground rent of £100 a year, increasing to £150 a year after 33 years, and to £200 a year after 66 years.
Some leases say that the ground rent will increase in line with a measure or formula, such as the rental value of the property, or the retail prices index (RPI), which is a measure that tracks the average price of goods and services.
Problems with ground rent increases
Some types of ground rent increase can cause problems, if the amount could get very high before the end of the lease. It could become unaffordable, and could affect the value of the property, making it difficult to sell or get a mortgage.
For example, if your ground rent increases based on a formula such as RPI, this means you cannot know how high the ground rent could be in future.
If your lease says that the ground rent will double every few years, it could eventually get very high, depending on the initial level and how often it doubles. For example, if it starts at £500 and doubles every 10 years, it will reach £4,000 after 30 years, and £16,000 after 50 years.
Court rulings have confirmed that ground rent terms in leases granted before 30 June 2022 are binding and can be enforced, even if this means the ground rent can get very high.
Ground rent and mortgages
It may be more difficult to get a mortgage for a property if the ground rent:
- is more than 0.1% of the property’s value (for example, more than £200 per year on a flat worth £200,000)
- has frequent increases that are linked to a measure such as RPI
- has increases that are linked to the value of the property
- doubles every few years
If you’re thinking of buying a property, ask your solicitor for advice on whether the ground rent could be a problem.
If you already own a property with a high ground rent and you need to remortgage, a solicitor can advise on your options.
- Last updated:
- 1 December 2025
- Next review:
- 1 December 2027
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