Leasehold and shared ownership
Leasehold purchase
Buying a leasehold flat or house, with a full review of the lease, the management pack, service charges and ground rent.
Every cost on its own line: the law firm's legal fee, VAT, the searches and other third-party costs, and any property tax. Your quote opens as soon as you send the form.
Ask the seller's conveyancer to order the management pack as soon as the sale is agreed. It is often the slowest part of a leasehold purchase.
When you buy a leasehold property, you buy the seller's lease: the right to occupy the property for the years left on it, while the landlord keeps the freehold. The lease sets the rules: what you pay in ground rent and service charges, what you must repair and what you need permission for. Those terms stay with you for as long as you own the property.
This service is for buying an existing leasehold flat or house, including flats in purpose-built blocks and conversions. New build and shared ownership purchases have their own pages, and our leasehold guide explains the basics.
Your instant, itemised quote includes the leasehold admin fee and allows for fees charged by the landlord or managing agent, which are confirmed once known. If you go ahead, Keyfolio introduces you to a regulated law firm experienced in leasehold work.
What is involved
On top of the usual purchase steps, your conveyancer works through the leasehold paperwork:
- Reading the lease: checking the remaining term, the ground rent and how it can rise, the repair and insurance obligations, and restrictions on things like pets, letting or alterations.
- The management pack: the seller's side requests this from the landlord or managing agent. It usually comes as a standard set of leasehold enquiries, often called the LPE1, with service charge accounts, budgets, insurance details and news of any planned major works.
- Service charges and reserves: looking at what you will pay, whether there is a reserve fund for future works and whether any large bills are expected.
- Building safety: for taller blocks, checking the building safety information and certificates supplied by the seller and the landlord.
- Lender requirements: confirming the lease meets your lender's rules on the remaining term, ground rent and insurance.
- Report: explaining the lease terms, costs and risks to you before you exchange.
- After completion: giving the landlord notice of your purchase and your mortgage, signing any deed of covenant the lease requires and registering you at HM Land Registry.
What the legal fee covers
- Reviewing the lease and reporting on its key terms
- Checking the management pack, service charge accounts and budgets
- Raising enquiries with the seller and the landlord or managing agent
- Checking the ground rent, how it can be reviewed and whether anything is owed
- Confirming the lease meets your mortgage lender's requirements
- Ordering and reviewing the property searches
- Serving notices on the landlord and completing any deed of covenant
- Filing the property tax return and registering your purchase
Costs you may see on top
- The leasehold admin fee
- Landlord or managing agent fees for registering notice of your purchase and your mortgage
- A fee for a deed of covenant or certificate of compliance where the lease requires one
- Searches and HM Land Registry fees
- A fee for acting for your mortgage lender
- Indemnity insurance for gaps such as missing landlord consent for past alterations
- A refund to the seller of service charge or ground rent they have paid in advance, settled on completion
What to have ready
- Photo identification and proof of address for each buyer
- Your mortgage offer and evidence of your deposit
- The memorandum of sale and the seller's conveyancer details
- The service charge and ground rent figures given in the property listing
- Details of any plans the lease may restrict, such as letting, pets or alterations
- Your survey report, especially comments on the roof, structure and shared parts of the building
How long it takes
A leasehold purchase commonly takes 12 to 20 weeks from instruction to completion. Much of that time is spent waiting for information you cannot control: the management pack, the managing agent's replies to follow-up questions and sometimes the landlord's confirmation of fees or consents. A lease your lender is unhappy with, building safety enquiries or a dispute in the building can add weeks. Getting your mortgage offer early and reading your conveyancer's lease report promptly keeps your side of the transaction moving.
Things to watch for
- Check how many years are left on the lease. Under the current rules a lease with 80 years or less costs more to extend, and some lenders will not lend on short leases.
- Look closely at ground rent that doubles or rises with inflation, which some lenders will not accept. For most new long residential leases granted from 30 June 2022, ground rent is limited to a peppercorn, which in practice means nothing.
- Ask whether major works are planned, such as a new roof or windows. Your share can be large, and where bills have already been issued the seller may agree to leave money aside from the price to cover them.
- Read the restrictions in the lease before you commit. A ban on pets, subletting or hard floors can matter as much as the price.
- Leasehold law is in the middle of reform, including rules on service charges and lease terms. Changes are being brought in by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024; your conveyancer will tell you what applies on the date of your transaction.
Questions people ask
What is a management pack?
It is the information about the building and its finances that the landlord or managing agent provides when a leasehold property is sold. It normally includes service charge accounts and budgets, buildings insurance details, ground rent, any reserve fund, planned works and the procedure for giving notice. The seller usually orders and pays for it, and your conveyancer reviews it and raises any questions before exchange.
How long should the lease be?
There is no single answer, but the shorter the lease, the more it matters. Under the current rules, extending costs significantly more once the lease has 80 years or less left, and lenders set their own minimum terms. If the lease is short, you could ask the seller to start a statutory lease extension and pass the benefit of the claim to you on completion. Your conveyancer can explain the options.
What is the difference between service charge and ground rent?
Ground rent is a payment to the landlord simply because you hold the lease, and it does not buy any services. The service charge covers your share of running the building, such as insurance, cleaning, repairs, lighting and management fees, and it can change each year. Under most leases you pay both, and your conveyancer checks the amounts and whether the seller is up to date.
Do I need the landlord's permission to buy?
Usually not to buy, but many leases require you to notify the landlord of the purchase and your mortgage within a set time and to pay a registration fee. Some also require you to sign a deed of covenant, a direct promise to the landlord or management company that you will keep to the lease. Your conveyancer deals with these steps on completion.
Who does the work
Your matter is handled by a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or CILEx Regulation, or in Northern Ireland by a solicitor regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. At the moment the law firms on our panel act for property in England and Wales, so for property in Northern Ireland we tell you whether a firm can act for you before we pass your details to anyone. The firm confirms who will work on your file, their experience and its terms before you instruct it. How we choose our firms.
Helpful guides
The other costs of your move
- Stamp duty calculator: stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland, Land Transaction Tax in Wales
- Moving costs calculator: the other costs of the move, from the survey to removals