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Leasehold and commonhold

Position of a person who owns the home on a long lease, and basic rules, rights and charges relating to leasehold.

This content applies to England & Wales

  • Leasehold and leaseholders rights

    Leaseholders own property for a limited time, and must consider interests and pay charges to the landlord who owns the freehold.

  • Lease agreements

    Complex written agreements contain information on a lease and leaseholder rights, with the regulated procedure to change the terms of a lease.

  • Right to manage

    Rights of leaseholders in some blocks of flats to form a company to manage the block, to which a landlord or other leaseholders may object.Right to manage for leaseholders of flats

  • Extending house leases or buying freehold

    Qualifying conditions a leaseholder must meet to buy the freehold or extend the lease, and how a freeholder can prevent such extension or sale.

  • Collective enfranchisement

    Leaseholders and properties that qualify for collective enfranchisement, which happens when a group of leaseholders buy the freehold to a block of flats.

  • Extending leases of flats

    Rights, conditions, procedure, and costs for extending the lease on flats, usually on the same terms as the old lease.

  • Right of first refusal to buy freehold

    Freeholder must offer leaseholders of flats the chance to buy the freehold before it is offered to anyone else.

  • Consultations for major works

    Procedures for consulting leaseholders about qualifying works and long-term agreements, effective enforcement by tenants' associations, and sanctions.

  • Rights to stay after lease ends

    Statutory protection may allow leaseholders to remain in occupation after termination of the lease and depend on the date the lease started and ended.Leaseholder rights to stay after end of lease

  • Repossession of leasehold property

    General conditions for terminating the lease before it expires, property repossession, relief from forfeiture, and advantages of negotiating any disputes early.

  • Commonhold property

    Rules for creating and managing commonhold properties, and issues when buying and converting a commonhold property.