Guide to Leasehold Property

Freehold means you own the property and the land that it is built on. There is no period of time you can own it, for you can own it as long as you like. 

Leasehold means you own the property, but not the land on which it sits, for a set period. For example, you might have a lease for either 125 or 999 years. 

If the property is both freehold and leasehold (usually a house), it means the leaseholder bought a share, or bought the freehold and now owns both the leasehold and freehold title. 

It may be possible to merge the two and this is typically done on registration by the buyer’s solicitors, but can also be done by the sellers. 

Most flats are leasehold, especially big blocks of flats. This is because there are lots of people who own a lease in the building. Most leasehold flats will have a management company who deal with the internal communal areas, external areas and sometimes parking. 

Houses can also be leasehold. Often if they are bought through a shared ownership scheme, housing association or local council. 

If you own a leasehold property or are thinking about owning a leasehold property, you will usually have to deal with a Management Company who can collect things such as ground rent and service charges, as well as undertake fire risk assessments and organise the insurance of the building.

If you are selling, you will be required to obtain a managment/seller’s pack from the management company to provide to the buyer’s solicitors. 

If you are buying a leasehold property, you will need to ensure that your lender is aware. We will also need to provide details to the management company on completion.