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What is freehold vs leasehold?
Buying your first home and not sure what freehold and leasehold mean?
Find out the major differences here.
What is a freehold property?
With a freehold, you own the house and the land it’s built on, including outdoor spaces like gardens. There are no leases to consider, and you won’t have to pay ground rent or any maintenance fees.
Freehold is the most common way to buy a house in the UK.
Differences between a freehold and a leasehold property
Here are the key differences between freehold and leasehold properties:
Property ownership – With freehold, you own the property and the land it’s built on. With leasehold, you own the property for a set period but not the land.
Gardens – With a freehold property, you own the gardens. It’s your responsibility to maintain them. With leasehold, you do not own the shared gardens. The landlord is responsible for maintenance. Unless your leasehold agreement states otherwise.
Service charges – With freehold, there are no set charges, but you are responsible for the property’s upkeep. With leasehold, you’ll pay ground rent and other service charges.
Remortgaging – You can remortgage a freehold property. For leasehold properties, most lenders generally want to see at least 70 years remaining on the lease.
Let’s take a closer look
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It’s very rare that a landlord can end the lease and evict you, but possible in some circumstances. They need to send you a formal written notice and get the court’s permission.
You can usually end a lease by giving at least a month’s notice. You do not have to leave the property when the lease expires. In law, a lease is a tenancy, and the leaseholder is a tenant. The tenancy will continue the same unless you or the landlord decide to end it.
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You can check with the Land Registry and order the Title Register. This has details about the property or land and may give you details about rights over adjoining land.
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The deed of certificate is how you can prove that you qualify for protections under the Building Safety Act.
You can find more information about this on the government website.
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