PROPERTY CLINIC

Millions of homeowners in Britain own the leasehold to their home, but not the freehold of the building and land on which it is built.
This is most common with flats, but housebuilders came under severe criticism recently for selling a raft of new houses in this fashion too.

Effectively, you only own a leasehold property for a fixed period of time - usually initially between 125 and 999 years- although most people never actually get to the end of a lease and renew it long before then.
The owner has a lease with a landlord - typically called the ‘freeholder’ - which says how many years they own the property for - and may impose some restrictions on what they can do.

Ownership of the property returns to the landlord if the lease ends.  

Traditionally, as a lease approaches the 70-year mark, it is important to consider extending it. This is the point at which many mortgage lenders start imposing stricter lending criteria (they may even consider the lease too low at this point and refuse to lend).

Effectively, you only own a leasehold property for a fixed period of time - usually initially between 125 and 999 years- although most people never actually get to the end of a lease and renew it long before then.
The owner has a lease with a landlord - typically called the ‘freeholder’ - which says how many years they own the property for - and may impose some restrictions on what they can do.

Ownership of the property returns to the landlord if the lease ends.  

Traditionally, as a lease approaches the 70-year mark, it is important to consider extending it. This is the point at which many mortgage lenders start imposing stricter lending criteria (they may even consider the lease too low at this point and refuse to lend).