Is My House Freehold or Leasehold? A Complete UK Guide to Property Ownership

If you are not sure whether your house is freehold or leasehold, the quickest way to check is your mortgage offer, your title deeds, or a search of the HM Land Registry register by postcode, which costs £7 for the full title or is free for a basic property summary. Freehold means you own the building and the land it stands on outright. Leasehold means you own the property for a fixed number of years while someone else, the freeholder, still owns the land underneath it.

That distinction sounds small until you try to sell the property, apply for a mortgage, or work out why your neighbour pays a service charge and you do not. Tenure affects your costs, your control over the property, and how easy the property is to sell or remortgage. It is worth understanding properly rather than assuming, because plenty of houses that look ordinary are leasehold, and plenty of buyers only find out at the conveyancing stage.

What does freehold mean?

Freehold is the most complete form of property ownership recognised in England and Wales. If you own a freehold property, you own the building and the land it sits on, for an unlimited period. There is no landlord, no lease to run out, and generally no ground rent to pay.

As a freeholder, you are responsible for maintaining the structure, repairing the roof and walls, and complying with any planning rules or restrictive covenants attached to the land. You can make changes to the property without asking anyone's permission, although you may still need planning permission from your local authority for significant alterations, and any restrictive covenants on a property that were written into the title deeds by a previous owner still apply. Most houses in England and Wales are sold freehold. Flats almost never are, because you cannot practically give one owner in a block of ten flats control over land that everyone else's flat also sits on.

What does leasehold mean?

Leasehold means you own the right to occupy a property for a fixed period, set out in a lease, while the freeholder continues to own the land. Leasehold is the normal arrangement for flats, and a minority of houses are sold leasehold too, particularly some new-build estates and shared ownership properties.

Your lease will set out the term (commonly 99 to 125 years, sometimes longer), any ground rent payable to the freeholder, service charges for maintaining shared areas, and restrictions on what you can do with the property, such as needing permission before you sublet, keep pets, or make structural changes. As the lease term shortens, the property typically becomes harder to sell and harder to mortgage.

Once it drops below 80 years remaining, the cost of extending it rises sharply, which is one of the more expensive surprises leaseholders run into during conveyancing for leasehold and freehold properties.

In our experience, the confusion is rarely about the definitions. It is realising that a house, not just a flat, can be leasehold, and that "leasehold" does not mean you are renting. You own the property itself for the length of the lease, you can sell it, leave it in a will, or extend it, but the land underneath belongs to someone else.

How can I check if my house is freehold or leasehold?

You can confirm your property's tenure in three ways: check your title deeds or mortgage offer, ask your solicitor or estate agent, or search the HM Land Registry register directly. The Land Registry's free property summary tool shows the tenure (freehold or leasehold) for any registered property in England and Wales by postcode. An official copy of the full title register, which also shows the lease length if applicable, costs £7 online.

If you bought your property since 1993 or so, it should be registered with the Land Registry, and the search takes minutes. Older properties, particularly in rural areas, are occasionally still unregistered, in which case your solicitor will need to check the original title deeds instead as part of the title searches carried out during conveyancing.

If you are buying rather than checking an existing property, this is one of the searches your solicitor runs as standard, alongside other property transaction searches that confirm boundaries, planning history and any local land charges.

Freehold vs leasehold at a glance

Feature	Freehold	Leasehold
Land ownership	You own the land	Freeholder owns the land
Length of ownership	Indefinite	Fixed term (commonly 99 to 125 years)
Ground rent	Usually none	Often payable to the freeholder
Service charges	Only if services are shared	Usually payable for communal areas
Permission for alterations	Not usually required from a third party	Often required from the freeholder
Maintenance responsibility	You, for the whole property	You, for the interior; freeholder or management company for communal areas
Typical property type	Houses	Flats, some new-build houses

Why are some houses sold leasehold?

Most houses in England and Wales are freehold, but a notable number of new-build houses were sold leasehold in the past, particularly through the mid-2010s. Parliamentary research into the practice found that around 14 to 18% of new-build houses sold in 2016 and 2017 were leasehold, with developers retaining the freehold to generate ongoing income from ground rent or from later selling the freehold on to an investor.

This practice drew heavy criticism and prompted the reforms discussed below, but it means older new-build purchases from that period are worth double-checking even if the property is a standard house rather than a flat.

If you are buying a new-build home, it is worth asking the developer directly whether the property is being sold freehold or leasehold before you commit, rather than assuming, since this affects both your ongoing costs and how straightforward the conveyancing process will be.

What the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 actually changes today

This is the part where a lot of coverage gets ahead of itself, so it is worth being precise. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received Royal Assent in May 2024, and it is often described as though it has already transformed leasehold ownership. As of September 2026, most of it has not.

Only a handful of provisions are actually in force. Since 31 January 2025, leaseholders no longer need to have owned their property for two years before they can apply to extend their lease or buy their freehold, which used to catch out buyers of short-lease flats immediately after completion. Since 3 March 2025, the Right to Manage process has been widened, letting more mixed-use buildings qualify, and leaseholders bringing a clean Right to Manage claim are no longer liable for the freeholder's legal costs.

What has not yet happened, despite frequently being reported as settled, is the abolition of marriage value, the extension of statutory lease terms to 990 years, and the ban on selling new houses as leasehold. All three are written into the Act, but none has a commencement date. A lease extension completed today still adds 90 years at a peppercorn ground rent under the existing rules, not 990. Marriage value, the extra cost that kicks in once a lease drops below 80 years remaining, is still payable in full.

The government has said it is waiting on a separate Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, published in draft in January 2026, to fix drafting problems in the 2024 Act before it can commence the enfranchisement changes, and two technical consultations on valuation rates and process costs were still open as of September 2026. The much-discussed £250 cap on ground rents for existing leases is part of that draft Bill, not the 2024 Act, and has not been passed into law.

If you are weighing up whether to extend your lease now during conveyancing or wait for cheaper terms, that timing gap matters. Waiting for an uncommenced reform with no confirmed start date, while your lease term keeps shortening and marriage value keeps growing, is rarely the safer option. Speak to a solicitor about your specific lease length before deciding either way.

Can you convert a leasehold property to freehold?

Yes, in many cases. Leaseholders of houses have a statutory right to buy the freehold, known as enfranchisement, provided you meet the eligibility criteria and pay a premium calculated by a valuer. Leaseholders of flats can pursue collective enfranchisement together with other leaseholders in the building, or extend their individual lease instead without buying the freehold outright.

The process involves a formal valuation, a notice served on the freeholder, and negotiation over the premium, and it is worth getting specialist advice before you start rather than after, since a poorly served notice can delay the whole claim. If you already know your lease is getting short, this is not something to leave until it becomes urgent. It is also worth reviewing how the property is currently owned, particularly if you hold it jointly, since a deed of trust for joint property ownership can set out each owner's share before you take on the cost of an extension or enfranchisement.

Freehold or leasehold: which should you buy?

There is no universally right answer, and the honest position is that it depends on the property and the lease terms, not the label. Freehold generally offers more control, lower ongoing costs, and fewer complications when it comes to selling or remortgaging, which is why lenders are usually more comfortable with it.

Leasehold can still be a sound choice, particularly for flats where shared ownership of the building is unavoidable, provided the remaining lease term is comfortably above 85 years, the ground rent is reasonable, and the service charge history looks sensible rather than erratic.

Before making an offer on a leasehold property, ask to see the lease itself, the last three years of service charge accounts, and details of any planned major works, since a large bill for roof or lift repairs can arrive shortly after completion if you do not check in advance.

A property survey will flag physical issues, but it will not tell you about the financial health of the building, which only the paperwork will show. This is one of the more common pitfalls in property transactions that catches out first-time buyers in particular, since the appeal of a lower asking price on a leasehold flat can mask costs that only show up later.

What about commonhold?

Commonhold is a third, much rarer form of ownership in England and Wales, mostly used for flats, where each owner holds the freehold of their own unit and jointly owns and manages the shared parts through a commonhold association, with no freeholder or ground rent involved at all. It has existed since 2002 but has barely been used, partly because it does not work well for mixed-use developments and partly because mortgage lenders have been cautious about it.

The government has said it wants commonhold to become the standard model for new flats, but that shift depends on the same draft legislation that has not yet reached the statute book, so for now it remains a niche option rather than a realistic alternative for most buyers.

Does tenure matter for wills, probate or divorce?

Yes. Whether a property is freehold or leasehold affects how it is valued and transferred as part of an estate, and a short lease can materially reduce what a property is worth to beneficiaries. If you are updating a will or dealing with property transfers during probate, it is worth confirming the tenure and remaining lease term as part of that process rather than assuming the figures used years ago still apply.

The same applies if a property needs to be valued and divided as part of a separation, where an accurate, current valuation matters for a fair settlement.

Frequently asked questions

Is freehold better than leasehold? 

For most buyers, yes, because freehold gives you full control, no ground rent, and generally an easier sale later on. But a leasehold flat with a long remaining lease, low ground rent and healthy service charge accounts is not automatically a worse purchase, particularly since flats are rarely available freehold in the first place.

What happens when a lease runs out? 

If a lease expires without being extended or the freehold bought, ownership of the property reverts to the freeholder and you no longer have a legal right to remain there. In practice, most leaseholders extend well before this point, and lenders will usually refuse to mortgage a property once the remaining term gets short, which forces the issue long before expiry.

Can I buy the freehold of my leasehold house? 

In most cases yes, if you have owned it for the qualifying period and the property meets the eligibility rules, which now no longer include a two-year ownership wait following the 2025 changes. You will need a formal valuation and a solicitor to serve the correct notice on the freeholder.

Do I need a solicitor to check if a property is freehold or leasehold? 

Not necessarily for a quick check, since the Land Registry search covers that. But if you are buying, selling, or extending a lease, you need a solicitor regardless, because the tenure affects the whole structure of the transaction, from the searches carried out to the contract terms themselves.

Get advice before you buy or sell

Tenure is one of those details that looks simple until it affects your mortgage application or your sale falls through because a lease has run too short. If you are buying, selling, or unsure what you currently own, Athi Law's conveyancing team can check the title, explain what it means for your specific property, and handle the process from offer to completion.

We also support clients where property questions overlap with other areas of life, from dividing a family home during family law proceedings to making sure a leasehold or freehold property is properly accounted for in wills and probate, through to the wider personal and business legal services we offer at Athi Law, including immigration advice for clients relocating to buy property in the UK. Contact us today to speak to a solicitor about your property.