Can you own freehold and leasehold

Owners of the properties that share a lease can form a commonhold association, which owns the land, building and common areas and is responsible for the management, maintenance, repair and servicing of them. Like a leasehold, owners are responsible for their individual flats or houses. But, unlike leaseholds, there is no time limit for how long you can own the property.

Anyone who owns a freehold in the building or estate is entitled to participate in the running of the commonhold association. With a leasehold, you own the property subject to the terms of the leasehold for the length of your lease agreement with the freeholder.

Some houses are sold as leaseholds. If this is the case, you own the property, but not the land it sits on. When buying a leasehold property, it is important to consider the length of the remaining term of the lease. As time goes by the value of the property is affected by the diminishing term of the lease which could make the property more difficult to sell.

Typically it is a good idea that the lease has at least 80 years remaining or you might struggle to get a mortgage. This means the freeholder is, normally, responsible for the maintenance and repair of the building. You might also be asked to pay into a sinking fund, to help cover any unexpected maintenance work needed in the future. The service charge on many properties will come with terms and conditions about how much they could rise by in the contract.

If you own a leasehold property, the repairs and maintenance on your property are your responsibility. These usually apply to flats with common parts or to properties in residential areas which have communal gardens or grounds. As a leaseholder you have rights preventing the landlord from taking advantage of you financially.

The Right to Manage — this lets leaseholders take over some management tasks from the landlord without having to prove bad management. Apply to appoint a new manager — but you must prove bad management unfair costs, breach of agreements. MoneyHelper is the new, easy way to get clear, free, impartial help for all your money and pension choices.

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Money troubles All Money troubles guidance. Tool Debt advice locator. Money Navigator. Auto enrolment Introduction, how it works, all about contributions. Most people know that flats are usually leasehold. What they are not aware of is that almost half of all houses in Sheffield are actually leasehold, and this is certainly nothing to be alarmed about. We looked at Land Registry data and this is what we found:. Total property transactions recorded: , Multiple property transactions excluded where a property has been sold more than once in the period.

There may be other properties not included in these figures because they may not have been sold in the period since 1 January It depends whether the property is a house or a flat and how long you have lived there. There are several different options:. The Leasehold Advisory Service has produced a factsheet on this here , as well as information on tenure security after the lease runs out. You may have to have the lease valued before you can extend or vary it, or buy the freehold.

This can be very complex indeed and will require the input of a valuation surveyor. You can also buy the freehold or a share in the freehold, but you can ask the freeholder to sell you this at any time, and not just at the end of a lease. You may or may not be eligible to buy the freehold: generally you must have owned it for at least two years, the original lease must have been more than 21 years, and the building must also qualify.

The details are different for flats and houses, with flats being more complex due to the amount of parties involved:. The Leasehold Advisory Service has more advice on buying the freehold of both houses and flats. However, leasehold law is incredibly complex and will always require detailed and expert legal advice.

Graysons conveyancers usually deal only with mutually agreed arrangements that are consented to by both parties, and not with compulsory purchases or lease extensions. This is often possible, but you must have owned the property for two years not necessarily lived in it , and the original lease must have been for 21 years or more.

You can extend the lease for 90 years for a flat, or 50 years for a leasehold house. This is the same for houses as it is for flats. At any rate, it can be anything from a few thousand pounds to tens of thousands to extend the lease. You can negotiate informally with the freeholder but this can be complex and long-winded.

However, this is often the best route as any terms can be set, providing you both agree on them. Please leave this field empty. You can read more about the merger here. You are also able to extend your lease so it is a long lease with the only cost now being legal fees. Generally, the eligibility requirements for a group of leaseholders to buy the freehold are as follows:. In summary, you do not need to have all occupiers on board but you do need to have at least half of the flat-owners involved.

If there are only two flats in the building, then both leaseholders must want to buy the freehold. Freehold prices vary in the same way property prices do but certainly the shorter your lease, the pricier your freehold.

If you need an estate agent, look for a Propertymark Protected agency. By using one of our members you are guaranteed to be consulting with a regulated, professional agent who will give you up-to-date advice and guidance. Buying the freehold to your flat If you own a flat, it is likely that you will not hold the freehold to the property and be paying ground rent to the freeholder.