Freehold property is property you own outright, together with the land it stands on, with no time limit. In England and Wales most houses are freehold and most flats are leasehold. You can check any property’s tenure on the HM Land Registry title register for £7, which also tells you who owns the freehold.
This guide explains what freehold means, how to find out whether your home is freehold and who owns it, how to buy the freehold of a flat or house, and how it works in Scotland. For the side-by-side comparison, see our guide to leasehold vs freehold. If you are new to buying, start with our step-by-step buying guide.
What does freehold mean?
Freehold is the most complete form of property ownership in England and Wales. The legal term is “fee simple absolute in possession”, which in practice means three things:
- You own it indefinitely. There is no lease that counts down.
- You own the land as well as the building. That includes the garden, the roof and the foundations.
- Nobody above you charges for it. No ground rent, no landlord’s consent for alterations (planning rules and any covenants in the title still apply).
When a listing says “tenure: freehold”, or a solicitor talks about a “freehold title” or “freehold interest”, they mean this. Freehold land is the same idea applied to a plot without a building on it.
Freehold still comes with responsibilities. You pay for every repair, insure the building yourself, and must follow any restrictive covenants recorded on the title. Some new-build freehold estates also charge an estate management fee for roads and green spaces, so ask your solicitor to check for one.
Freehold vs leasehold at a glance
| Freehold | Leasehold | Share of freehold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you own | Building and land, forever | A right to occupy for a fixed term (for example 99 or 125 years) | A lease, plus a share in the company that owns the freehold |
| Typical property | Houses | Flats, some new-build houses | Flats in converted houses and small blocks |
| Ground rent | None | Often yes | Usually none or nominal |
| Service charge | None (you pay repairs directly) | Yes | Yes, set by the owners together |
| Who decides on repairs | You | The freeholder or managing agent | The owners jointly |
The full comparison, including mortgage and resale effects, is in leasehold vs freehold. For how leases work, see leasehold explained.
Who owns the freehold of a property?
If you own a freehold house, you own the freehold. If you own a leasehold flat, the freehold belongs to someone else, known as the freeholder or landlord. That can be:
- the original developer;
- an investment company that bought the freehold to collect ground rent;
- a housing association or the local council;
- the flat owners themselves, through a company they control (share of freehold).
How to find out who owns your freehold:
- Search HM Land Registry. Use the search the register service and look for the freehold title of the building (not your own leasehold title). The title summary shows the owner’s name and address; the full register costs £7.
- Check your paperwork. Ground rent and service charge demands must give the landlord’s name and an address in England and Wales for notices. Your conveyancing solicitor will also have the freehold details from your purchase.
- Ask in writing. You have a legal right to ask your managing agent or the person you pay rent to for the landlord’s name and address.
Our guide to using HM Land Registry walks through the search step by step.
How to check if a property is freehold or leasehold
- Title register: the tenure is stated on the HM Land Registry title summary and register. This is the definitive answer.
- The listing: estate agents must show tenure on property adverts, along with lease length, ground rent and service charge for leaseholds. If you are selling, see what to prepare in our selling process guide.
- Your purchase documents: the completion pack from your solicitor will include the title and, for a leasehold, the lease.
A flat is almost always leasehold, even when the owners share the freehold; see our guide to buying a studio flat for the lease checks that matter. A house is usually freehold, but some new-build and older houses are leasehold, and a maisonette can be either, so always check the title. Older homes can also reveal tenure history: see when was my property built.
Buying the freehold: process, cost and value
If you own a leasehold house, you can usually buy the freehold from your landlord under the right to enfranchise. You no longer need to have owned the house for two years before making a claim; that requirement was removed in January 2025.
If you own a leasehold flat, you can buy the freehold of the building together with your neighbours (collective enfranchisement). At least half of the flats in the building must take part, and the building must meet a few qualifying tests. Owners usually set up a company to hold the freehold, which turns their flats into share of freehold.
What it costs. The price (the “premium”) depends on the value of the flats, the ground rent the landlord loses, and, if leases are under 80 years, a share of the extra value a longer lease creates (“marriage value”). You also pay your own surveyor and solicitor, and currently the landlord’s reasonable costs. Get a valuation from a specialist surveyor before you serve notice.
How much does freehold add to a property’s value? There is no fixed percentage. The gain comes from removing ground rent, being able to extend your lease to 999 years at little cost, and controlling the service charge. The shorter the current lease, the bigger the uplift. For a current figure on your own home, get a free house valuation.
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Leasehold reform update. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will abolish marriage value and change how premiums are calculated, but those rules are not yet in force [confirm status on publication]. A draft bill published in January 2026 proposes capping ground rent and making commonhold the default for new flats. We will update this guide as the rules commence. See the House of Commons Library briefing.
Freehold in Scotland
Scotland does not use the term freehold. The equivalent is outright ownership, recorded as a heritable title in the Land Register of Scotland.
- Feudal tenure was abolished on 28 November 2004, so owners no longer pay feu duty to a superior.
- Most long residential leases were converted into outright ownership on 28 November 2015.
- Flats in Scotland are owned outright, not leasehold. Shared parts such as the roof and stair are governed by the title deeds and the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.
So if you are asking “are flats in Scotland freehold?”, the practical answer is yes: each owner holds their flat outright and shares responsibility for the common parts. Ownership is checked through Registers of Scotland, not HM Land Registry.
What is a flying freehold?
A flying freehold is part of a freehold that sits above or below a neighbouring property, for example a bedroom built over a shared passageway or a cellar that runs under next door. They are common in terraced houses and conversions.
The risk is that English law gives you no automatic right to enter the neighbour’s property to repair the part underneath, or to force them to maintain it. Some lenders accept small flying freeholds, often with indemnity insurance; others decline. If a property has one, ask your solicitor to check the title plan and any rights of access, and tell your broker early. A flying freehold is not always obvious from the HM Land Registry title plan, which shows general rather than exact boundaries.
Share of freehold and “virtual freehold”
Share of freehold means the flat owners together own the freehold, usually through a company. Each owner still has a lease, but because they are also the landlord, they can extend it to 999 years with no ground rent at little cost.
“Virtual freehold” is an informal term for a flat on a 999-year lease with no or nominal ground rent. It feels like freehold, but legally it is still leasehold and the freehold belongs to someone else.
Is freehold a better investment?
For most buyers, a freehold house or a share of freehold flat is easier to mortgage, sell and maintain on your own terms than a leasehold flat with a short lease or rising ground rent. The trade-off is that you carry every repair bill yourself. If you are buying to let, factor maintenance into your rental yield, budget for the stamp duty surcharge on additional homes, and check your licensing obligations.
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Frequently asked questions
Freehold property is property you own outright, along with the land it stands on, with no time limit and no landlord above you.
Usually a landlord such as the developer, an investment company or the council, unless the flat owners have bought it together. Check the building’s freehold title on HM Land Registry or your ground rent demand.
Search the HM Land Registry register. The title summary shows the tenure and the owner; the full title register costs £7.
Yes, together with other flat owners in the building through collective enfranchisement, as long as at least half take part and the building qualifies.
Scotland has no freehold. Property is owned outright under a heritable title, and flats are owned outright too, with shared parts covered by the title deeds.
Part of a freehold that overhangs or sits beneath someone else’s property. It can make a mortgage harder to get, so check it early.
Not usually, but some new-build estates charge an estate management fee for shared roads and open spaces. Your solicitor should check.
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Last Updated on October 8, 2026