Freehold Property Explained

A Freehold property is usually a house and the owner will own both the house and the land it is built upon.

The owner has the right to live at the property for as long as they please unlike a Leasehold property where such right is limited to a certain number of years.

Freehold properties on a development may still pay a service charge for the maintenance and upkeep of the communal areas of the development, such as communal gardens and private access roads.

Freehold owners do not pay a Ground Rent.

Freehold Property Deeds

Freehold properties do not have a Lease. Instead, most will have an original transfer deed from the time the house was first sold, and it is this document which governs the rights, obligations and covenants the owner of the property must abide by.

Like leases, such transfer deeds have evolved over time and more modern ones are often as lengthy, and complicated, as some leases. They will contain similar rights, such as:

• The right to use shared private access roads.

• The right to use shared paths and landscaped areas.

• The right to shared private drainage facilities.

The original transfer deed will also include covenants similar to those in the leases to apartments on the same development. These may include, for example:

• To pay your Service Charge on the dates prescribed therein.

• Not to use visitor parking spaces for own personal use.

• To maintain the front garden to preserve the appearance of the development.

The above summary is purely for general information and is not to be taken as legal advice. All leases and freehold deeds are different and owners or prospective owners must obtain their own independent legal advice on the lease or deeds which govern your particular property.

Your solicitor or conveyancer should provide you with a copy of the relevant lease or transfer deed and explain it fully to you. If he or she has not, or you have any questions or concerns, you should ask your solicitor or conveyancer before you commit to purchasing a property.

As Managing Agent we do not hold copies of all the leases and deeds on any development. If you have not been provided with a copy of the lease or transfer deed, we can usually obtain a copy for you from the Land Registry, but we charge an Administration Fee of £25.00 plus VAT to do so. You may be able to get a copy from the Land Registry yourself at a lesser cost.