Extending your shared ownership lease
Why get a lease extension
A lease runs for a fixed number of years.
Shared ownership leases for flats from April 2021 are 990 years long.
Older shared ownership leases for flats and houses may be only 99 years long. As the lease gets shorter, its value goes down and you could find it difficult to sell or remortgage your home. Extending the lease can make this easier.
Until you staircase to 100% ownership, you can only extend your lease by agreement with the landlord.
Limits on extending your lease
If your landlord and the building owner are not the same, there may be a limit on a lease extension.
Important
You cannot extend your lease beyond the length of the agreement your landlord has with the building owner. This agreement is called the “head lease” and you should check its terms and length when you buy your shared ownership home.
If the head lease is short you may not be able to extend your lease at all.
How to find out the length of your lease
The lease length is set out in your lease. You can also find out by:
- asking your landlord or housing association
- using our lease length checker
- Last updated:
- 15 June 2026
- Next review:
- 15 June 2028
Related content
Use the lease length checker tool to find out how long is left on your lease and what it means
Your options to increase the share of the property you own (staircasing)
Advice guideHow to extend the lease of your flat, including getting started, your options and costs.
Topic - Lease extension