Freehold ownership means you own the property and the land it sits on outright, with no time limit on that ownership. Leasehold means you own the right to occupy a property for a fixed number of years, while someone else – the freeholder – owns the underlying land.
Leasehold arrangements are common with apartments and flats, where owning the physical land beneath a multi-unit building isn’t practical for each individual owner.
As a lease term shortens, particularly under 80 years remaining, the property can become harder to sell or mortgage, and extending the lease can be costly – this is worth checking carefully before buying.
Leasehold properties often come with ongoing service charges and ground rent paid to the freeholder, on top of the purchase price, which should be factored into the true cost of ownership.
Freehold generally offers more long-term control and fewer ongoing obligations, but leasehold properties can still make sense, particularly for apartments, as long as the remaining lease term and charges are clearly understood upfront.