Leasehold Check
Is this property leasehold or freehold?
Around 4.8 million homes in England are leasehold, and most buyers don't check until late in the process. Leases below 80 years can trigger sharp extension costs, and ground rents above £250 a year can change the legal rules around your tenancy. Enter an address below and we'll show what HM Land Registry transaction records show in seconds, alongside the rest of your buyer due-diligence pack.
Last updated: 6 May 2026. Editorially reviewed: 20 May 2026.
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Run a free previewWhat does leasehold mean for buyers?
Freehold means you own the building and the land outright with no time limit. Leasehold means you own the property for a fixed number of years; once the lease runs out, ownership reverts to the freeholder unless you extend. Most flats are leasehold, and so are some new-build estate houses.
Mortgage lenders typically require at least 70 to 85 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term, so a 25-year mortgage on a 90-year lease leaves 65 years at expiry, which lenders refuse. Insurance premiums can also load if a building doesn't have a clear management arrangement, and resale gets harder as the lease shortens.
The 80-year rule
Below 80 years remaining, the freeholder becomes entitled to 50% of the "marriage value" (the uplift in value created by extending). Extension costs roughly double overnight. Buyers find out about this rule only after they've had a mortgage application declined or paid for a survey.
If you discover a sub-80 year lease before exchange, your options are: ask the seller to start the statutory extension before completion, negotiate a price reduction to cover the future extension, or walk away. A RICS leasehold specialist can quote the extension within a few days.
What our report checks
- Tenure (freehold or leasehold) from HM Land Registry Price Paid Data
- Date of the most recent registered transaction
- Likely leasehold inference for flats and maisonettes where transaction tenure is unavailable
- Flat-with-freehold contradiction flag (often share of freehold, worth confirming)
- A direct "what to ask your solicitor" section based on the tenure result
Common leasehold warning signs
| Warning sign | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Lease under 80 years | Extension costs jump sharply | Get a RICS valuation before offering |
| Ground rent over £250 per year | May trigger Assured Shorthold Tenancy rules | Solicitor review required |
| Doubling ground rent clause | Could make the property unmortgageable | Walk away or negotiate heavily |
| Service charge not disclosed | May be very high | Request three years of accounts |
| Fleecehold management fees | Freehold but with private estate charges | Ask about deed of covenant |
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a property is leasehold?
You can check using our free tool above. We query HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for tenure and use EPC property type as a corroborating signal where transaction tenure is unavailable. Your solicitor should confirm the exact lease term from the title before exchange.
Is leasehold bad when buying a house?
Not always. Many perfectly good homes are leasehold. The key risks are leases under 80 years (extension costs jump), ground rents that can escalate, and high service charges on flats.
How many years should a lease have left?
Most mortgage lenders require at least 70 to 85 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term. Buyers generally want more than 90 years to feel comfortable. Leases below 80 years should be investigated carefully.
Can I extend a leasehold?
Yes. Under UK law you have a statutory right to extend the lease by 90 years on a flat or 50 years on a house if you qualify. Since January 2025 you no longer need to have owned the property for two years first.
What is the 80-year rule?
Once a lease drops below 80 years, the freeholder is entitled to 50% of the marriage value increase when you extend, making it significantly more expensive. This is why buyers and mortgage lenders treat 80 years as a key threshold.
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Editorial owner: BiteRight Ltd, operator of MyPropertyScan. We review buyer guides against UK public property datasets, RICS survey wording, lender requirements, and common buyer questions.
Pages are updated when source coverage, property-risk guidance, survey cost assumptions, or product checks materially change. Methodology and dataset limitations are explained on the MyPropertyScan methodology page.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.