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GUIDES

Buying A Leasehold Flat Guide

Buying A Leasehold Flat: What You Own, Your Rights and Responsibilities

If you are buying a leasehold flat, it is important to know exactly how your ownership works. This guide gives you some general advice about what you own and what your rights and responsibilities as a leaseholder are.

Importantly, this is general advice – for specific legal advice relating to your property, or a property you intend to purchase please contact us.

Key Considerations When You're Buying A Leasehold Flat

Buying a leasehold flat can feel a little more complex than buying a freehold property, especially if it’s your first time navigating leases, service charges and the rights and responsibilities that come with them. To help you understand the essentials before you commit, we’ve put together a straightforward FAQ section covering what you actually own, what you’re entitled to, and what you’re expected to do as a leaseholder. These quick explanations will give you a solid foundation — and your solicitor will guide you through the finer details of your individual lease.

Ground Rent and Service Charge

Because you are a tenant when you’re buying a leasehold flat, you must pay rent to the landlord. This is a specific requirement of the lease and must be paid when the landlord issues a formal demand.

Sometimes your ground rent may be so low that it is known as a ‘peppercorn rent.’ Unfortunately, other leaseholders face the problem of spiralling ground rent.

Service charges are payments made by leaseholders to the landlord for the services they provide, such as maintenance, repairs, and building insurance. The cost of the service charge varies between properties and is often based on a budget that changes year by year.

When you buy a leasehold flat, we recommend finding out what the current service charges are and what they are likely to be in the future (the estimated budget).

Details of the service charge should be set out in your lease, including when it is payable and how it is calculated.

There is often statutory protection regarding whether the landlord has reasonably incurred a service charge, limits on when it was incurred, and sudden increases in the service charge. These measures aim to provide consistency in residential developments.

How Can I Be Sure That the Terms of My Lease Are Acceptable?

You should talk to a specialist leasehold solicitor about the terms of your lease before you purchase. You can contact on 01244 312306 or fill in our Online Contact Form.

Click the following link to learn more about our – Leasehold Properties Legal Services.

A leasehold is a long tenancy – when you buy a leasehold flat, you have the right to occupy and use the flat for a set period. This period is the ‘term’ of the lease and can range from 99 years up to 999 years. Normally, you own everything within the four walls of the flat. This includes:

  • Floorboards
  • Plaster
  • The ceilings and the inside of the walls.

It does not normally include the external walls. The freeholder usually owns the common parts of the building and the land, including the structure of the building.

What you own is listed in the lease as the ‘demised premises.’

Quiet enjoyment – It is the law (even if it is not set out in your lease) that you have the right to reside in your flat without unreasonable interference from the landlord. Depending on your lease, you can usually expect the landlord to maintain, repair, and manage the common parts of the building, such as the entrance hall, staircase, and car park.

Very occasionally, you may come across a ‘self‑repairing’ lease, where you are responsible for the maintenance and repair of your own flat, including the external walls.

You also have many other rights, including the right to know certain information about your landlord, the right to be consulted on major works, and more.

You will generally be required to:

  • Keep the inside of the flat in good repair and order
  • Pay your share of the costs of maintaining, insuring, and running the building
  • Behave in a considerate manner so as not to disturb your neighbours
  • Obtain your landlord’s consent before making alterations or sub‑letting the property.

Importantly, your rights and responsibilities will be set out in your lease. You should ask a solicitor to analyse the terms of your lease and provide advice.

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