Buying the freehold of a leasehold house: how it works and what it costs

In England, a leasehold-house owner usually buys the freehold by statutory enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 or by agreeing a voluntary sale with the freeholder. Wales uses the same 1967 Act for houses; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules, so the right and the price are not the same across the UK.

How do you buy the freehold of a leasehold house?

A leaseholder of a qualifying house in England and Wales can serve the 1967 Act notice from day one, because the old two-year prior-ownership rule was abolished from 31 January 2025. The key statutory effect is that, once the right exists and the notice is served, the landlord must transfer the freehold at the statutory price: “the landlord shall be bound to make to the tenant, and the tenant to accept” the freehold grant. The 2024 Act removed the former ownership condition by omitting the old paragraph, and any site still saying you must have owned the lease for two years is out of date. Buying the freehold of a leasehold house can also be done by voluntary agreement, but that is a negotiation rather than the statutory route. Northern Ireland has its own legislation: a leaseholder may enlarge the lease into a fee simple, and ground-rent redemption is priced by statute. In Scotland, most qualifying ultra-long leases converted automatically into ownership on 28 November 2015, so there may be nothing left to buy.

Can you force your freeholder to sell you the freehold?

Yes, in England and Wales a qualifying leasehold-house tenant can force the freeholder to sell the freehold by serving the statutory notice under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967. The Act says that where the tenant has the right and gives written notice, “the landlord shall be bound to make to the tenant, and the tenant to accept” the freehold transfer, so this is not merely a request to negotiate. That answers whether you can force your freeholder to sell you the freehold: if the house and lease qualify, the Act compels the transaction on the statutory terms. Northern Ireland is different: the leaseholder has a statutory enlargement route, but a landlord can apply to the Lands Tribunal within 12 months to resume possession on statutory grounds. Scotland is different again, because qualifying long residential leases became outright ownership by operation of law, so the English question of forcing a freehold sale often does not arise.

How much does it cost to buy the freehold of a house?

In England and Wales, buying the freehold of a leasehold house commonly costs around 12–16 times the annual ground rent in an informal deal, while quoted total costs for a statutory house purchase are often £6,000–£25,000+ once premium and fees are included. A freehold purchase calculator is only an estimate, because the statutory price depends on the ground rent, lease length, deferment and capitalisation assumptions, and whether marriage value applies. Under the 1967 Act, marriage value is split 50:50 where it is payable, but if the unexpired term exceeds 80 years “the marriage value shall be taken to be nil.” Professional fees are usually extra: one market calculator puts solicitors, the landlord’s reasonable legal costs and valuation at about £3,000–£4,000. Northern Ireland is much simpler for ground-rent redemption: the price is not a valuation formula but nine times the annual ground rent. In Scotland, qualifying ultra-long leases converted by statute rather than purchase, so no freehold premium is paid for that conversion.

Can a freeholder charge whatever they like for the freehold?

A freeholder cannot charge whatever they like if the leaseholder uses the statutory enfranchisement route in England and Wales, because the price is set by the statutory formula; outside that route, a voluntary freehold sale is simply whatever price buyer and seller agree. That distinction settles both how much a freeholder can sell a freehold for and whether an owner can ask whatever price they want: an owner can ask any voluntary price, but the statutory process prevents the freeholder from dictating the figure. Market evidence for informal sales puts residential freeholds at roughly 12–16 times annual ground rent, but that is a bargaining benchmark, not a legal cap. Where statutory rights are used, the landlord’s leverage is narrower because the Act says the transfer happens “at the price and on the conditions so provided.” Northern Ireland’s ground-rent redemption is also fixed by statute, with the redemption money determined under Schedule 1 and the multiplier fixed at 9.

Is it worth buying the freehold if you already have a 999-year lease?

Buying the freehold of a house with a 999-year lease in England and Wales is usually worth considering for control, resale simplicity and removing leasehold friction, but the statutory premium should be low because no marriage value is added while more than 80 years remains. The 1967 Act says that where the unexpired term exceeds 80 years, “the marriage value shall be taken to be nil,” and a 999-year lease is far beyond that threshold. The real question is therefore not lease length but value for money: buyers and lenders often prefer freehold houses, conveyancing is simpler, and the owner avoids ground rent, consent clauses and lease administration. For a landlord who continues letting the house afterwards, the day-to-day record-keeping does not change with the title: compliance certificates, tenancy dates and rent are tracked the same way in a platform like Abodient whether the reversion is leasehold or freehold. Against that, a very long lease may already be practically close to freehold, so the premium, valuation fee and legal fees can outweigh the benefit. In Scotland, a 999-year residential lease has probably already converted into outright ownership under the 2012 Act, so check the title before paying anyone to buy something that may already have changed by law.

What is section 27 of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967?

Section 27 of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 lets a qualifying house tenant in England and Wales ask the High Court for a vesting order when the freeholder cannot be found or identified, so the missing landlord does not block enfranchisement. The section applies where the tenant has the right to acquire the freehold but is “prevented from giving notice of his desire to have the freehold because the person to be served with the notice cannot be found, or his identity cannot be ascertained.” In that situation, the court can make an order with a view to the house and premises being vested in the tenant on terms equivalent to the normal statutory purchase, so far as the circumstances allow. Section 27 is therefore not a general pricing rule and not the ordinary first step in buying the freehold; it is the missing-landlord route used when the normal notice cannot be served.

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• Leasehold Reform Act 1967 s.8 — “Where a tenant of a house has under this Part of this Act a right to acquire the freehold, and gives to the landlord written notice of his desire to have the freehold, then except as provided by this Part of this Act the landlord shall be bound to make to the tenant, and the tenant to accept, (at the price and on the conditions so provided) a grant of the house and premises for an estate in fee simple absolute, subject to the tenancy and to tenant's incumbrances, but otherwise free of incumbrances.” Source
• Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 s.27 — “(a)in subsection (1), omit paragraph (b) and the “and” preceding it;” Source
• Leasehold Reform Act 1967 s.9 — “Where, in determining the price payable for a house and premises in accordance with this section, there falls to be taken into account any marriage value arising by virtue of the coalescence of the freehold and leasehold interests, the share of the marriage value to which the tenant is to be regarded as being entitled shall be one-half of it.” Source
• Leasehold Reform Act 1967 s.9 — “But where at the relevant time the unexpired term of the tenant's tenancy exceeds eighty years, the marriage value shall be taken to be nil.” Source
• Property Accelerator — “Costs typically range from £6,000-£25,000+ for a leasehold house, or £30,000-£200,000 split among flat-owners for a block.” Source
• HomeThink freehold purchase calculator — “Professional fees typically add £3,000–£4,000 to the total: your own solicitor (£1,200–£1,800), the freeholder's reasonable legal costs (which you must pay), and a RICS valuation (£600–£1,000).” Source
• Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 s.4 — “(a)a qualifying lease becomes the right of ownership of the land in relation to which it is the qualifying lease,” Source
• Leasehold (Enlargement and Extension) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 s.1 — “(a)to enlarge that estate into a fee simple, and for that purpose to acquire by purchase the fee simple in the land and any intermediate estates therein;” Source
• Leasehold (Enlargement and Extension) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 s.19 — “Where the estate in reversion in the land of the lessor under a lease to which this Act applies is an estate of freehold or is for a term of not less than fifteen years the lessor may, not later than twelve months after the date on which a notice is served under section 2, apply to the Lands Tribunal for an order that he may resume possession of the land on the expiry of the lease on any one or more of the following grounds—” Source
• Ground Rents Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 — “1.F2 The redemption money appropriate to a ground rent is the sum produced by multiplying the yearly amount of the ground rent by the figure fixed under paragraph 2 as the number of years purchase applicable to that ground rent.” Source
• Ground Rents Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 s.5 — “The redemption money appropriate to any ground rent is to be determined in accordance with Schedule 1.” Source
• Ground Rents (Multiplier) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002 — “For the purposes of paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to “the Act”, the figure 9 is fixed as being the number of years purchase applicable to ground rents.” Source
• Leasehold Knowledge Partnership — “Residential freeholds have often been traded at only around 12 to 16 times annual ground rent (see: here).” Source
• Leasehold Reform Act 1967 s.27 — “Where a tenant of a house having a right under this Part of this Act to acquire the freehold is prevented from giving notice of his desire to have the freehold because the person to be served with the notice cannot be found, or his identity cannot be ascertained, then on an application made by the tenant the High Court may, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this section, make such order as the Court thinks fit with a view to the house and premises being vested in him, his executors, administrators or assigns for the like estate and on the like terms (so far as the circumstances permit) as if he had at the date of his application to the High Court given notice of his desire to have the freehold.” Source