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Buying the freehold – the basics

If you want to buy the freehold of a flat see the link ‘Buying the freehold of your flat’.

If you own a leasehold house, you’ll own the property for a fixed period of time. It can be harder to sell as the number of years on the lease decrease. If you buy the freehold, you will own your home and its value could increase. You will also have more control over things like repairs and alterations.

You can ask the landlord if they’ll sell you the freehold, but you could also qualify for the right to buy it. This right is known as ‘enfranchisement’.

If you qualify, there are few reasons why your landlord can refuse to sell. However, there are legal steps you need to follow. If you don’t, the sale could fall through, and you can’t buy the freehold for the next 12 months.

• Buying the freehold of your flat

Qualifying for the right to buy the freehold

To qualify, you need to meet certain conditions, including:

• you have held the lease for the last two years
  
• you hold a ‘long lease’, usually this means it was originally granted to last more than 21 years
  
• your lease covers the whole house, not just an individual flat or maisonette

Exceptions

Even if you qualify, there are times when you can’t buy the freehold. For example:

• in certain circumstances where the National Trust or a charitable housing trust own the freehold
  
• your house is in an area designated as a ‘rural area’ and the land next to it is not used for residential purposes

Download the guide ‘Houses: qualifications and valuation for enfranchisement’ for the full conditions and exceptions.

• Download 'Leasehold houses - qualifications and valuations for enfranchisement' (PDF, 200K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

How much will it cost?

You have to buy the freehold from the landlord. It’s difficult to value and you’ll have to negotiate on the price, so get a valuer to work out how much it’s worth.

If you and the landlord can’t agree on the price, you can appeal to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT). This is an independent legal body that can settle certain types of leasehold dispute without the need to go to court.

You usually have to pay the landlord’s legal costs for dealing with the sale, even if it falls through. You can apply to the LVT if you think these costs are ‘unreasonable’.

• Leasehold Valuation Tribunals - information from Ministry of Justice Opens new window

Getting help and advice

Get a professional to help you buy the freehold. They can also advise you on the benefits of buying the freehold, check that you qualify and deal with the legal paperwork.

You can get free advice from the Leasehold Advisory Service or Citizens Advice.

• Leasehold Advisory Service - online enquiry form

• Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE)

• Find your local Citizens Advice Bureau

Steps to buy the freehold

The basics steps are shown below. Download the guide ‘Houses: qualifications and valuation for enfranchisement’ for more detail. For example, the steps are different if you’ve inherited the house. You can get the forms from a legal stationers or your solicitor.

Step one – serving a ‘Notice of Tenant’s Claim’ form

Send the landlord a ‘Notice of Tenant’s Claim’ form. If your landlord is ‘absent’ (can’t be found), you can ask the court for permission to buy the freehold.

Step two – the landlord’s response

The landlord’s response is known as a ‘Notice in Reply’. The landlord can:

• accept you that you have the right to buy the freehold
  
• not respond
  
• challenge your right to buy the freehold

If the landlord doesn’t respond, you can ask the court for permission to buy the freehold.
The landlord can challenge your right to buy the freehold in the court if:

• the property is going to be demolished or redeveloped
  
• the landlord or a member of their family wants to live in the property

Step three – agreeing the price and completing the sale

You may need to negotiate terms, for example, the price or date you will own the freehold from. If you can’t reach an agreement, you can ask the LVT to settle the dispute.

You can withdraw from the enfranchisement up to one month after a price has been agreed. If you withdraw, you can’t buy the freehold for the next 12 months and you may have to pay the landlord’s costs.

• Download 'Leasehold houses - qualifications and valuations for enfranchisement' (PDF, 200K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files