Freehold
Freehold means you own the building and the land it stands on outright, with no time limit. Most houses in England and Wales are sold freehold.
Freehold is the most complete form of property ownership in England and Wales. The owner holds the building and the land beneath it for ever, with no lease and no landlord.
Most houses are sold freehold. Most flats are not, because a flat shares a building with other homes and is usually sold as a leasehold.
What a freeholder owns
A freeholder owns the property and its land outright. There is no ground rent or service charge to a landlord, and no lease that runs down over time. The owner is responsible for repairs, insurance and upkeep.
The ownership is recorded at HM Land Registry under a freehold title. The title register shows who owns it, the boundaries on a plan, and any rights or restrictions that come with it, such as a right of way or a covenant.
Freehold in sold price data
Every sale in HM Land Registry Price Paid Data is marked as freehold or leasehold. This field is called the duration, or tenure. It lets you separate freehold houses from leasehold flats when you look at what homes in an area sold for.
Tenure matters when you compare prices. A freehold house and a leasehold flat on the same street are different products, so their prices are not directly comparable. Our guide to what the Land Registry price data includes explains the tenure field and the other fields in each record.
Freehold flats and shared freeholds
Some flats are sold with a share of the freehold. Here the flat owners jointly own the freehold of the building, often through a company, and each also holds a long lease on their own flat. The sale is usually recorded as leasehold, because the flat itself is held on a lease.
Commonhold is a separate form of tenure for flats, in which each owner holds their flat freehold and a commonhold association manages the shared parts. It is rare in England and Wales.
Freehold estates and private estates
Some freehold houses on newer estates pay an annual charge to a management company for the upkeep of roads, green spaces and other shared areas. This is separate from a lease and does not change the tenure.
| Owns | The building and the land, with no time limit |
| Typical for | Houses |
| Recorded as | F (freehold) in Price Paid Data |
| Alternative | Leasehold, usual for flats |
Related terms
Leasehold · Price Paid Data · Property type · Flat or maisonette · Conveyancing