Freehold vs Leasehold: What's the Difference, and How to Check Yours

Freehold means you own the building and the land it stands on outright, with no end date. Leasehold means you own the property for a fixed number of years under a lease, while someone else, the freeholder, owns the building and the land. Most houses in England are freehold and most flats are leasehold.

Checked 20 October 2026.

What freehold means

When you own a freehold, you own the property and its land for as long as you choose to keep it. Nobody charges you ground rent or a service charge for the building, and you are responsible for all of the repairs and the insurance yourself.

A freehold can still come with rules. Covenants on the title may, for example, restrict building work or business use. Some freehold homes on new estates also pay an estate charge towards roads and shared spaces that the council has not adopted.

What leasehold means

When you buy a leasehold property, you buy a lease: the right to own and live in the property for a set number of years, often 99 or 125 at the start. The freeholder, also called the landlord, keeps the building and the land.

The lease sets out:

• How long is left. The years keep running down. A shorter lease can make a property harder to mortgage and sell, and more expensive to extend.
• Ground rent. A yearly sum to the freeholder, if the lease reserves one. Most new long residential leases granted since 30 June 2022 can charge no more than a nominal "peppercorn" ground rent.
• Service charge. Your share of the cost of insuring, repairing and running the building.
• Rules. What you need the freeholder's permission for, such as alterations, letting the property or keeping pets.

Freehold and leasehold side by side

• How long you own it. Freehold: no end date. Leasehold: the years left on the lease.
• Who owns the building and land. Freehold: you. Leasehold: the freeholder.
• Ongoing charges. Freehold: none to a landlord, though an estate charge is possible. Leasehold: service charge, and ground rent if the lease reserves one.
• Repairs and insurance. Freehold: yours. Leasehold: usually arranged by the freeholder and paid for through the service charge.
• Permissions. Freehold: only those in covenants and planning law. Leasehold: those in the lease as well.

Share of freehold and commonhold

There are two other arrangements you may see on flats:

• Share of freehold. You hold a lease of your flat, and the flat owners own the building's freehold together, usually through a company. Our guide to share of freehold explains how it works.
• Commonhold. You own your flat outright, and an association of the owners runs the shared parts. It is rare today.

How to check your tenure

• The title register. Every registered property has a title register at HM Land Registry, and it says whether the title is freehold or leasehold. For a leasehold, it also gives the date and length of the lease. You can download a copy for a small fee from the government's property information search.
• The property listing. When you are buying, the estate agent should state the tenure in the listing. If it does not, ask.
• Your own documents. If you own the property, your solicitor's completion report and the lease, if there is one, say which it is.

A house can be leasehold, and a flat can come with a share of the freehold, so check rather than assume.

Does it change the legal work when you buy?

Yes. A leasehold purchase involves the lease and information from the freeholder or managing agent, so there is more to check.

• Our fee. Our legal fee for a leasehold home comes from a separate scale, which is higher than the freehold scale at most prices, and Dealing with Leasehold (£150 + VAT) is added. On a £300,000 home bought with a mortgage, our fee is £1,010 + VAT for a freehold and £1,260 + VAT for a leasehold, plus disbursements. The freeholder or managing agent sets its own charge for the information it supplies, and that is shown separately.
• Time. A freehold purchase typically takes 8 to 10 weeks from instruction to completion and a leasehold one 10 to 12 weeks. Timescales depend on the chain, the searches and your lender, and on a leasehold purchase on how quickly the managing agent replies.

Our guide to buying a leasehold flat sets out what your solicitor checks on the lease.

Leasehold law is changing

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is coming into force in stages. Since 31 January 2025, a leaseholder no longer has to own a property for two years before they can extend the lease or, for a house, buy the freehold. Other changes, including new valuation rules for lease extensions and freehold purchases, and a ban on new leasehold houses, are not in force yet. Separately, the government has proposed capping ground rent on existing leases; that is not in force either. Checked 20 October 2026 against the government's leasehold toolkit.

Questions people ask

Should I buy leasehold or freehold?

Freehold gives you more control and no lease to run down. Many homes, and most flats, are only available as leasehold, and a leasehold with a long lease and reasonable charges is a normal purchase. What matters is the detail: the years left, the ground rent, the service charge and the lease terms. We check those before you commit.

Can you be removed from a leasehold property?

A freeholder cannot simply take back a long lease. Ending it for a breach of the lease, called forfeiture, needs a court order, and the law adds protections for leaseholders. Many disputes are about service charges, which can be challenged at a tribunal.

What happens when a lease runs out?

The law gives residential leaseholders some protection when a long lease ends, but most extend the lease long before it gets near the end. Extending earlier is usually simpler and cheaper. Our guide to extending a lease explains the steps.

Can I buy the freehold of my property?

Often, yes. Owners of leasehold houses may be able to buy the freehold, and flat owners can club together to buy the freehold of their building. The government's guide to buying the freehold explains who qualifies.

What happens to a leasehold property when the owner dies?

The lease is part of their estate, like any other property. It passes under their will or the intestacy rules, and the people dealing with the estate can sell it or transfer it to whoever inherits.

Buying a leasehold or freehold home

Our leasehold and lease extension page explains how we handle a leasehold purchase or sale, and our buying a house page covers freehold purchases. For an exact, itemised figure, get a quote for your purchase.

Sources

Leasehold property: gov.uk/leasehold-property

Checking a title register: gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Leasehold reform, what is in force: the government's leasehold toolkit for England, published 20 May 2026, checked 20 October 2026.

Our fees: our fee scale, checked 20 October 2026. Published ranges: our fees page.

This is general information about freehold and leasehold property in England, not advice on your property. Leasehold law is changing; check the position that applies when you buy, sell or extend.