What does Freehold mean?

If you are looking to buy a home for the first time Enable’s experienced IFA’s in Bishop’s Stortford know there can be a huge number of terms to get to grips with. Starting with the basics even the term freehold can be daunting – what does it mean? The vast majority of houses in the UK are owned on a freehold basis so if you own a house, you are the freeholder which means you own both the property and the land on which the property stands.

Currently a freehold is the strongest form of land/property ownership available in the UK and it means that the owner of a freehold property has complete and absolute ownership of the land, and all buildings on it. In addition there is no limited time of ownership of the land and the property unlike with leasehold property. Therefor the owner of a freehold property can do whatever they wish to with the property, as long as they make any changes in accordance with to local planning regulations.

Interestingly in the eyes of the law a ‘freehold’ is effectively your ownership of a plot of land, rather than the buildings you have on it. That is probably why the Government department your ownership is registered with is called HM Land Registry and your title deeds tend to contain a large scale map, with the boundary of your freehold land marked in red ink. In an ideal world anyone entering the property market would want to buy a freehold that gives you full ownership of the building and the land it is built on.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners • 
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD • Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE