Selling a leasehold flat and why management packs make it take longer

A leasehold flat sale includes all the procedures involved in a freehold sale together with a third party that you can't speed up: the freeholder or the managing agent. They keep the information which your buyer's solicitor insists on having, they charge you for providing it, and they follow their own schedule. That is the genuine reason why leasehold sales take longer and why the fees are so high.

The following article provides general information only and should not be regarded as legal advice. It outlines what one can expect in 2026, the associated costs, and the means by which the lease can be stopped from dragging down the sale.

Order the management pack the day you list

The key component of leasehold conveyancing is the management information pack, which normally consists of the Law Society's LPE1 form together with other supporting documents. This pack includes the service charge accounts and any arrears, the annual budget, planned major works and section 20 notices, building insurance, the ground rent and any disputes. Lenders who are considering a mortgage examine this pack carefully, and unexpected arrears or a large upcoming bill for major works can cause a mortgage offer to be postponed. Only the freeholder or managing agent can complete it, and they charge the seller for the privilege: typically £200 to £500 in 2026, and sometimes £600 to £800 from the slower and more expensive agents.

The main issue is the turnaround time. Although a properly managed agent is able to prepare the pack in a matter of weeks, the usual time taken is between one and four weeks, and poorly managed blocks may take six. As the buyer's solicitor will not proceed with the exchange until the pack has been produced, the single most effective thing a leasehold seller can do is to instruct a solicitor and ask them to prepare the pack on the day the flat is put on the market, not when a buyer has been found.

Why leasehold conveyancing takes longer

A leasehold sale generally takes between eight and 15 weeks from the making of an offer to completion, compared with about eight to 12 weeks for a similar freehold transaction, the variation being mainly due to the time waiting for third parties. The buyer's solicitor makes further inquiries concerning the lease terms, the service charge history and any major works that are planned, and each visit involves the managing agent. You can also expect your legal fees to be higher since leasehold sales cost approximately £300 more than freehold ones, average solicitor fees for selling a leasehold flat being about £910 to £1,250.

In order to reduce the waiting time you should have all the necessary documents ready on the first day these include a copy of the lease, recent service charge statements and demands, the building's insurance schedule and any letters concerning major works. Although your solicitor can only relay what the freeholder gives them, the gaps can be filled in by yourself which in turn saves you making a trip each time.

The lease length cliff edge

Before you list, check the years left on the lease, because buyers' lenders certainly will. Below about 80 years, extending the lease triggers marriage value, making the extension markedly more expensive, and buyers price that in. Below roughly 70 years, most mortgage lenders simply decline, and many prefer 85 years or more. If your lease is short, talk to a specialist before marketing: sometimes the right move is to start the extension process and sell with the benefit of it.

A worked example of what it costs

Suppose you sell a leasehold flat in 2026 with a straightforward lease and a responsive managing agent. A realistic bill looks like this: £1,150 for the solicitor (a typical £850 sale fee plus a £300 leasehold supplement) and £350 for the management pack, a total of £1,500 before the estate agent's commission. The buyer faces leasehold extras of their own, typically £50 to £150 each for the freeholder's notice of transfer and notice of charge, and £100 to £300 for a deed of covenant where the lease requires one. Service charges and ground rent are apportioned at completion, so anything you have paid beyond the completion date comes back to you, which softens the blow a little.

The reforms that have not arrived yet

You may have read that leasehold sellers' fees are being capped. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 does contain powers to cap management pack charges and set deadlines for producing them, but according to the House of Commons Library's leasehold reform tracker, most of the Act is still not in force and needs secondary legislation, expected from 2027 onwards. The same goes for abolishing marriage value on lease extensions. In 2026 you are selling under the old rules, so plan and budget on that basis.

• In force now: buyers no longer need to have owned for two years before claiming a lease extension, and right-to-manage rules have been relaxed.
• Still pending: management pack fee caps and turnaround deadlines, marriage value abolition, and the ground rent reforms in the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill.

The bottom line

Selling a leasehold flat in 2026 means finding roughly £1,500 in legal and pack costs against £850 or so for a freehold sale, and allowing eight to 15 weeks rather than eight to 12, with the management pack the most common cause of delay. Order the pack immediately, check the lease length before you market, and treat the reform headlines as next year's news. A conveyancer who handles flats week in, week out will chase the agent so you do not have to: compare conveyancing quotes and ask each firm our 10 questions for conveyancing solicitors before choosing.