What Is The Difference Between Leasehold & Freehold?

These are two fundamentally different forms of legal ownership

Freehold is the most extensive ownership and the most common form of house ownership in England. Subject to any restrictions or obligations placed upon the Freehold interest, e.g. a right of way, the freeholder of a property owns it outright, referred to as owning the “title absolute” which includes the land the property is built on

However, in English Law, it’s not possible to own the “Freehold Interest” in an apartment because this would include all the land below & all the air above the property

Leasehold means that the property buyer have a lease from the freeholder (sometimes called the landlord) to use the property for a defined number of years. Leases are usually long term, often 90 years or 120 years and as high as 999 years…  but can be short, such as 40 years

These long leases are usually very similar to a “Freehold Interest” in practical terms and a Landlord’s (freeholders) rights to the occupation of the property are very restricted

The lease acts as a contract between the leaseholder and freeholder, which sets out  the legal rights and responsibilities on either side. For example, the freeholder will normally be responsible for maintaining the common parts of the building, such as communal areas and the staircase, as well as the external walls and roof. The terms of a lease should define all aspects of the upkeep of a property including obligations to insure, maintain and may include the payment of ground rent by the leaseholder to the freeholder

Be aware that the shorter the remaining term of the lease, the less valuable the property. Therefore the harder it will be to secure a mortgage upon the property if for example a lease has under 50 years to run. However there are various legal rights a leaseholder enjoys by Statute in which they can seek to buy the Freehold or gain a new long lease through a lease extension if so wish

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to our residential management team hello@horizonmanagement.co.uk

 

Related Articles

 

We’ve had a great experience with the Horizon team, our questions have been answered straight away and work has been completed to a high standard. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a new building management team as we were.
Bolton Hackett
Katie & Chris are pros. They’ve sorted all our problems immediately. They are very nice people to deal with. Highly recommend.
Rosie Moss
A really great company. Our previous Block Managers were providing a poor service and were expensive. Within a short period Horizon Management have turned the Block around at a considerably cheaper price. Highly recommended!
Marc Willton
I rarely write reviews but felt compelled to write this.
The team at Horizon management is just fantastic, 100% on top of everything, hard-working and always there when I need them or have a question.
Cannot recommended them highly enough..????
Ben Holmes
Great communicators, timely, efficient and great to work with. I would 100% recommend working with this company.
Adam Smith
The whole team has always been extremely helpful and responsive when dealing with any issues we have come across in any blocks they manage. A massive thank you to the continued hard work from Lisa and the whole team!
Leef Properties
Excellent company, very conscientious and on the ball. The team are great and cannot do enough for you. Always contactable and helpful in every way. Highly recommended!
Lisa Calvert
Great guys to work with everything was smooth highly recommend
Martin Attride
Excellent Service, the team is friendly & reliable. Pleasure to work with.
Kris Maple
My experience with Horizon Management has been great, pity they are no longer managing another apartment I own.
Jie Shen
Very professional, friendly and hard working team. I would highly recommend their services.
L P
Very recommended. Horizon team is very helpful. Working with them is a pleasure. ????????
Piotr Uczkuronis
I have really enjoyed working with Horizon Management. Their work ethic and blocks are first class.
Peter Cox
A truly exceptional and professional service.
Attention to detail and level of competency are unsurpassed. Really recommend ????
Piotr Uczkuronis
Great company to work with, we’d highly recommend working with them! The team including Chris and Katie have been an absolute pleasure to deal with!
AJ Richmond
I have been dealing with Horizon for over 2 years now in a maintenance capacity. Throughout the years their responsiveness to their customers has been top notch.

This shows most when we (my maintenance business) are late or cannot make it to an appointment at one of their sites. The team are straight on the case, they always have a backup option.

It shows clearly that their customers investment is their top priority.

I can not recommend this friendly bunch highly enough! Well done.
Michael Bishop
Excellent company and team, couldnt recommend them enough.
Chris Whitlock
Fantastic company with huge importance on customer service.
Every question gets answered and they are thoroughly professional.
Neil Smith
Horizon only took over my block a few months before I sold up so I only have limited experience but it was all positive. Very helpful, professional people.
Jimmy L
An absolute dream to work with.
They make everything simple, easy and straight forward.
Very easy to talk to and nothing is to much trouble.
5 stars isn’t enough!
Thanks Chris and the team!!
????????????????????????
Neil Smith
Couldn’t fault them - since they’ve stepped in the service is so much better ????????
Steph Hitchman
Brilliant company to work with, really responsive and can’t do enough to help!
Ellen Cantrill
Great company, whole team has always been helpful and responsive when dealing with any issues we have come across .A massive thank you! Absolutely satisfied and highly recommended .
Andrea
We've used several management companies over the years to look after our apartment block , Horizon were recommended to us and we would not hesitate to recommend them to others
First class service from the whole team
Brian
I'm extremely impressed with Horizon Management. Their team is professional, attentive, and efficient. They've significantly improved the maintenance of our property and are always responsive to our needs. Their dedication to customer satisfaction is outstanding. Highly recommend for reliable and exceptional block management services.
Piotr
Excellent service from the team at Horizon! A pleasure to work with.
Kris Maple
Always reassuring to deal with a company who answer the phone and are helpful and friendly. Horizon look after my apartment building and have helped turn it around since the previous agents seemed to have given up!
Victoria
Really good company to deal with, very professional. It is so rare to find someone good in this industry. Highly recommended.
James Fawcett
Great company to work with, we’d highly recommend working with them! The team including Chris and Katie have been an absolute pleasure to deal with!
Ashley Richmond
As always, the service from Horizon Management is clear, helpful, friendly and efficient. Katie and the team patiently explained everything to us and I have complete confidence that our legal matters will be completed to our total satisfaction.
Rob Zak
A first class team!!! Always very helpful
Catherine Pickard
They’ve done a good job so far and easy to get hold of.
Mike Thomas
Horizon Management have been fantastic. Our previous management company were very unprofessional, not doing their job and hiking up their fees considerably every year.
Horizon Management have come in taken control from day one, are now charging a fair service charge, carrying out all the required duties and have been very transparent throughout. I would highly recommend!
Marc
To put some context in my review: Horizon manage a building where I own a flat and after years of mismanagement by the previous block managers, Centrick, Horizon took over the building with outstanding results. I find their approach to be extremely transparent, working hard to improve the building while not putting up costs unnecessarily. To me they are a breath of fresh air in an industry where its all to easy to exploit flat owners with lazy management.

I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Horizon to anyone who wants a managing agent that actually works hard for leaseholders, freeholders and tenants.
Richard Ball

Accreditations

ARMA - Horizon Managment
RICS - Horizon Managment
British Safety Council - Horizon Managment
Client Money Protect - Horizon Managment
Cyber Essentials - Horizon Managment
ICO - Horizon Managment
The Property Institute - Horizon Managment
Property Redress Scheme - Horizon Managment
Redefining Leasehold Living

Speak to an expert at Horizon

Click here to contact one of our friendly team who will be happy to help