Leasehold or Freehold? What to Disclose in a Property Listing

Tenure is one of the first things a buyer checks and one of the few facts a listing must get right by law. Whether a property is freehold or leasehold — and the detail behind a leasehold — belongs in the listing, not saved for the solicitor. Here is what to disclose and why.

Freehold, leasehold and the bit in between

With a freehold, the owner holds the property and the land it sits on outright. With a leasehold, they own the right to live there for a fixed number of years while a freeholder owns the building or land; flats are usually leasehold. You may also meet share of freehold (leaseholders jointly own the freehold) and commonhold (still rare, but central to where reform is heading). Name the tenure plainly — guessing or leaving it blank is not an option.

Leasehold: the figures that must appear

For a leasehold property, buyers — and the material information rules — expect the key numbers up front:

• Years remaining on the lease. Short leases (under about 80 years) affect mortgageability and cost money to extend, so this is decision-changing information.
• Ground rent — the amount and any review pattern. Escalating ground rents have made some flats genuinely hard to sell.
• Service charge — the annual amount and what it covers.
• Major works planned or a known sinking-fund shortfall.
• Restrictions in the lease — pets, subletting, short-term lets, alterations.

Omitting an inconvenient figure — an escalating ground rent, a heavy service charge, a 78-year lease — is a misleading omission, not a tidy edit. See our material information guide for how Parts A, B and C fit together.

Why it matters more than it used to

Since April 2025 the DMCC Act 2024 has governed misleading listings, and the CMA can fine firms directly. Tenure sits in Part A of material information — the must-disclose tier — so a leasehold flat advertised without its lease length or charges is exactly the kind of listing that draws scrutiny. It is also commercial common sense: a buyer who discovers a short lease at the conveyancing stage pulls out, and you have lost weeks.

Reform is moving — describe today's facts

Leasehold is mid-reform. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 has begun to take effect in stages (the old two-year wait before extending a lease was abolished in early 2025), and further changes to ground rents and commonhold have been proposed. The detail will keep shifting, so describe the property's actual current terms rather than what the law might become, and point buyers to their solicitor for the implications.

How to word it

Keep it factual and unspun: "Leasehold; 112 years remaining; ground rent £150 per year; service charge approximately £1,400 per year covering buildings insurance, communal cleaning and grounds maintenance." Clear, complete, and nothing a buyer could feel misled by later.

ListSmith only writes from the tenure details you enter — it will not quietly drop an awkward service charge or invent a lease length to make a flat look cleaner. Try it free, and read our material information guide next.

This is general information, not legal advice. For a specific property, check the lease and consult a conveyancer.