Ground rent
Who pays ground rent
Ground rent is no longer charged for new leases. Whether you pay it depends on when your lease was first granted.
Leases granted before 30 June 2022
If your lease was originally granted before 30 June 2022, you usually need to pay ground rent. Check your lease or get advice if you’re not sure.
This includes if you bought your property from another leaseholder after this date and they transferred their existing lease to you.
Leases granted on or after 30 June 2022
You do not usually need to pay any ground rent if you have a lease that was granted on or after 30 June 2022 (or 1 April 2023 for new retirement leases) – for example if you bought a new build property after this date.
This is because under the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022, ground rent for new leases is limited to a nominal or zero value, called a “peppercorn” ground rent.
If your lease was granted after this date and your landlord asks for ground rent, speak to them and explain that you do not need to pay. You may need to get legal advice if you’re unable to resolve the problem by speaking to your landlord.
Shared ownership properties
You will not usually need to pay any ground rent if you have a shared ownership lease, where you own a share of the property and also pay rent on the share you do not own.
But you may need to start paying if you buy more shares ("staircasing") up to 100% ownership. This depends on what your lease says.
Ground rent and lease extension
If you have extended your lease using the formal route, where you follow a set legal procedure, then you will no longer need to pay ground rent.
If you extend your lease informally by agreeing terms with your landlord, you may still need to pay ground rent for the rest of the original lease term, at a level that is no higher than the original ground rent terms. You will not need to pay ground rent for the extra years.
It’s important to check the new lease and make sure you’re happy with the amount of ground rent you’ll pay. This is especially important because the terms of an informal lease extension are negotiated with your landlord, so other terms may also be changed.
- Last updated:
- 1 December 2025
- Next review:
- 1 December 2027
Related content
An introduction to things you need to know if you buy a leasehold property
Advice guideHow to extend your lease, including the different routes and valuation