What rights do freeholders have over leaseholders, and can they refuse a pet?

In England and Wales, a freeholder’s power over a leaseholder comes mainly from the lease, not from ordinary ownership of someone else’s home. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ in important ways, so each answer below states the England-and-Wales position and adds the limited cross-border point where it matters.

What rights does a freeholder have over a leaseholder?

A freeholder in England and Wales can enforce the lease, collect properly demanded ground rent, recover reasonable service charges, charge reasonable administration fees where the lease allows, and use lease remedies for breach, but the leaseholder has exclusive possession for the lease term. GOV.UK describes a long lease as giving “the exclusive possession of the land and the property on it for a fixed term,” and says lease terms “can usually only be changed by formal agreement between both parties.” The freeholder is not free to rewrite the bargain later: ground rent is not payable until the statutory notice is served, and service charges are recoverable only “to the extent that they are reasonably incurred.” In practical terms, the freeholder’s rights are strongest over covenant compliance, building management, permissions and money due under the lease; they are weakest where they try to behave as if the flat were still in their possession. In Scotland, post-1974 residential long leases barely map onto this model because new long leases cannot be used as private dwelling-houses, and qualifying ultra-long leases converted to ownership on 28 November 2015.

Can a freeholder forfeit a lease or force a leaseholder out?

A freeholder in England and Wales can still forfeit a long residential lease, but they cannot simply kick out a leaseholder: forfeiture of an occupied dwelling must be enforced through court proceedings, and Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 sections 167–168 still govern despite the January 2026 abolition announcement being only a proposal. The Protection from Eviction Act says that where a dwelling lease is subject to a right of re-entry or forfeiture, “it shall not be lawful to enforce that right otherwise than by proceedings in the court” while someone is lawfully residing there. For a long residential lease, the landlord generally cannot serve a Law of Property Act 1925 section 146 forfeiture notice unless the breach has been determined or admitted, and small arrears are protected: the 2002 Act caps the prescribed sum at £500, while the England and Wales regulations set the actual trigger at £350. Completed forfeitures are rare — government analysis estimates 28–80 annually — but the threat is powerful because forfeiture can destroy the leaseholder’s equity. Northern Ireland also requires court proceedings for occupied dwelling forfeiture; Scotland uses different property concepts and irritancy is not competent for qualifying ultra-long leases.

Can a freeholder force a leaseholder to sell?

A freeholder in England and Wales has no general statutory right to force a leaseholder to sell their flat; the main statutory buy-out rights run the other way, allowing leaseholders to acquire the freehold collectively where the 1993 Act conditions are met. The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 says the relevant Chapter exists to confer on qualifying tenants “the right… to have the freehold of those premises acquired on their behalf,” which is a leaseholder right against the freeholder, not a freeholder power over the leaseholder. A landlord who wants to sell the freehold of a qualifying block may have to offer first refusal to leaseholders, but that does not make any leaseholder sell their lease. The harsh exception is forfeiture: if the lease is forfeited, the freeholder may keep the asset under current law, although government material says many landlords return surplus value voluntarily and that this is “discretionary.” A statutory lease extension can also be ended later for redevelopment by court order with compensation, but that is a specific 1993 Act redevelopment mechanism, not an ordinary power to compel sale.

Can a freeholder refuse to extend a lease on a flat?

A freeholder in England and Wales cannot refuse a valid statutory flat lease extension just because they dislike it: if a qualifying tenant serves a proper section 42 notice, the landlord is bound to grant a new lease except where the 1993 Act allows refusal, mainly redevelopment. The current statutory extension is still “a new lease of the flat at a peppercorn rent for a term expiring 90 years after the term date of the existing lease”; the often-mentioned 990-year statutory extension is not yet in force because the 2024 Act provision is marked prospective. Since 31 January 2025 there is no longer a two-year ownership wait before a lease-extension claim, because the removal of the qualifying period came into force on that date. A freeholder can refuse or negotiate hard on an informal lease extension, because LEASE says “Your landlord does not have to agree to extend your lease,” but the formal statutory route is different. Northern Ireland has its own older model, allowing a qualifying lessee to extend once only for up to 50 years; Scotland’s qualifying ultra-long leases converted to ownership instead of being extended.

Can a freeholder refuse to let you keep a pet in a flat you own?

A freeholder in England and Wales can refuse a pet in a leasehold flat if the lease bans pets or requires consent and gives no enforceable right to consent, because there is no general statutory right to have a dog or other pet in a flat you own. GOV.UK’s lease guidance says that many leases require permission “to keep pets,” and the modern assured-tenancy pet-consent rule does not automatically apply to owner-occupier long leaseholders. The key document is the lease: an absolute ban is much harder to challenge than a clause requiring consent, and a consent clause may still allow the freeholder or managing agent to consider nuisance, number of animals, building rules and complaints. A pet-licence fee is an administration charge, and a variable administration charge is payable only where “the amount of the charge is reasonable.” Assistance dogs are different because Equality Act duties may apply to a controller of let premises, but that does not create a general pet right for every leasehold owner. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the answer is also title-or-lease based rather than a general statutory right to keep pets.

Can a freeholder inspect your flat?

A freeholder in England and Wales has no general right to walk into a leasehold flat; inspection depends on the lease, except for specific statutory regimes such as higher-risk building safety access in England. The common 24-hour inspection rule is often overstated for long-lease flats: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 section 11 applies only to leases “for a term of less than seven years,” so it is not a general freeholder inspection power over owned leasehold flats. If the lease gives an inspection right, the notice period and purpose matter; in one Upper Tribunal lease, entry required “notice in writing to the Tenant 24 hours before any entry is made” except in emergency. For higher-risk buildings in England, an implied access covenant for building-safety purposes can be used only if the tenant has received “at least 48 hours’ notice in writing.” If a leaseholder refuses a valid lease inspection covenant, the freeholder normally needs a tribunal or court route rather than self-help entry. Scotland has a tenement access rule based on reasonable notice for maintenance-related inspection, while Northern Ireland’s private-tenancy inspection statute does not cover very long terms exceeding 99 years.

Is an allocated parking space private property?

An allocated parking space in England and Wales is private land in everyday parking-control terms, but it is not automatically the leaseholder’s private property: the lease decides whether the space is demised to the flat, granted as an exclusive right, or merely allocated by management. The High Court has held that designated parking rights in leases “cannot sensibly be construed as a demise of that space,” meaning the freeholder kept the land and the leaseholders had an easement-type right to use it. Land Registry practice is the cleanest starting point: where a parking space is actually included in the lease outside the building, it should be shown on the tenant’s title plan “by red edging or other suitable reference.” If the lease gives only a right to use bay 12, that can still be valuable and enforceable even though the leaseholder does not own the soil under the bay. For collective enfranchisement, the 1993 Act also treats a parking space used with a particular dwelling as residential rather than common parts, but that is not the same as proving title to the bay. Scotland and Northern Ireland depend on titles and lease wording rather than a general allocated-bay rule.

What can you do if the parking space in your lease no longer exists?

If a specific parking space granted by your lease no longer physically exists in England and Wales, your strongest remedies are to read the lease and title plan, demand reinstatement or an equivalent space, and consider an injunction or damages for interference with the lease right; there is no fixed statutory compensation tariff. The key case is the High Court’s parking-space decision: where the lease granted a fixed easement over identified spaces, the landlord had “no right of variation expressly set out and no basis… for such a right to be implied.” That means a freeholder who rearranges a development cannot automatically move a leaseholder from a numbered bay to a different area unless the lease permits relocation. The court in that case would have assessed damages in lieu of an injunction at £517,500 shared among eight leaseholders, showing that a lost parking right can be worth serious money, but the figure is case-specific and not a tariff. LEASE describes removing lease-granted rights as derogation from grant: “Your landlord cannot take away rights given to you in the lease.” In Scotland, title-condition variation can involve compensation for substantial loss; Northern Ireland has no dedicated statutory lost-bay compensation scheme.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Buying or owning a leasehold home — “A long leasehold contract (also known as a lease) allows a leaseholder (also known as the lessee or tenant) the exclusive possession of the land and the property on it for a fixed term.” Source
• GOV.UK, Buying or owning a leasehold home — “Once the contract has been entered into, the terms can usually only be changed by formal agreement between both parties.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 s.166 — “A tenant under a long lease of a dwelling is not liable to make a payment of rent under the lease unless the landlord has given him a notice relating to the payment; and the date on which he is liable to make the payment is that specified in the notice.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.19 — “only to the extent that they are reasonably incurred” Source
• Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 s.4 — “a qualifying lease becomes the right of ownership of the land in relation to which it is the qualifying lease” Source
• Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 Appointed Day Order 2013 explanatory note — “In accordance with section 70 of the Act, ‘the appointed day’ for the purposes of the Act will be 28th November 2015.” Source
• Protection from Eviction Act 1977 s.2 — “Where any premises are let as a dwelling on a lease which is subject to a right of re-entry or forfeiture it shall not be lawful to enforce that right otherwise than by proceedings in the court while any person is lawfully residing in the premises or part of them.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 s.168 — “A landlord under a long lease of a dwelling may not serve a notice under section 146(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (c. 20) (restriction on forfeiture) in respect of a breach by a tenant of a covenant or condition in the lease unless subsection (2) is satisfied.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 s.167 — “The sum prescribed under subsection (1)(a) must not exceed £500.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (Prescribed Sum and Period) (England) Regulations 2004 reg.2 — “The sum prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) of section 167 (failure to pay small amount for short period) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 is £350.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (Prescribed Sum and Period) (Wales) Regulations 2005 reg.2 — “The sum prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) of section 167 (failure to pay small amount for short period) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 is £350.” Source
• MHCLG, Enforcement of Long Residential Leases annex — “Although actual forfeiture cases are thought to be relatively rare (estimated at 28-80 annually) 8, the threat of forfeiture is frequently leveraged by landlords to ensure compliance.” Source
• Northern Ireland, The Rent (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 art.55 — “Where any premises are let as a dwelling-house on a lease which is subject to a right of re-entry or forfeiture it shall not be lawful to enforce that right otherwise than in pursuance of proceedings in the court while any person is lawfully residing in the premises or any part of them.” Source
• Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012 s.73 — “On and after the day on which this section comes into force, it is not competent for a lease to which subsection (2) applies to be terminated by irritancy.” Source
• Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 s.1 — “This Chapter has effect for the purpose of conferring on qualifying tenants of flats contained in premises to which this Chapter applies on the relevant date the right, exercisable subject to and in accordance with this Chapter, to have the freehold of those premises acquired on their behalf—” Source
• MHCLG, Enforcement of Long Residential Leases annex — “However, stakeholder engagement with freeholder representatives suggests this is not always the case in practice and many landlords return the windfall to the leaseholder, for example the Residential Freehold Association’s code of practice states that any surplus realised from forfeiture should be returned to the leaseholder unless there are specific circumstances, 25 and this may be the case across other landlords, but this is discretionary.” Source
• Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 s.56 — “Where a qualifying tenant of a flat has under this Chapter a right to acquire a new lease of the flat and gives notice of his claim in accordance with section 42, then except as provided by this Chapter the landlord shall be bound to grant to the tenant, and the tenant shall be bound to accept—” Source
• Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 s.56 — “a new lease of the flat at a peppercorn rent for a term expiring 90 years after the term date of the existing lease.” Source
• Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 s.33 — “This version of this provision is prospective.” Source
• Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 Commencement Regulations 2025 reg.2 — “Section 27 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (removal of qualifying period before enfranchisement and extension claims) comes into force on 31st January 2025.” Source
• LEASE, Informal lease extension route — “Your landlord does not have to agree to extend your lease, and they can propose less favourable terms.” Source
• Northern Ireland, Leasehold (Enlargement and Extension) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 s.1 — “to obtain an extension of his leasehold estate in the land on one occasion only for a term of not more than fifty years.” Source
• GOV.UK, How to lease — “Many leases require you to ask for permission if you want to sublet your property on short term lettings such as AirBnB, to make alterations or to keep pets.” Source
• GOV.UK, If a tenant wants a pet to live with them — “If you’re a leaseholder, you may need to ask for permission from your freeholder.” Source
• Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 Sch.11 — “A variable administration charge is payable only to the extent that the amount of the charge is reasonable.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.13 — “Section 11 (repairing obligations) applies to a lease of a dwelling-house granted on or after 24th October 1961 for a term of less than seven years.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.30C — “only if the tenant has been given at least 48 hours’ notice in writing.” Source
• Assethold Ltd v Eveline Road Freehold Ltd [2022] UKUT 266 (LC) — “notice in writing to the Tenant 24 hours before any entry is made” Source
• Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 s.17 — “Where an owner gives reasonable notice to the owner or occupier of any other part of the tenement that access is required to, or through, that part for any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (3) below, the person given notice shall, subject to subsection (5) below, allow access for that purpose.” Source
• Kettel v Bloomfold Ltd [2012] EWHC 1422 (Ch) — “In my judgment, for all the reasons above, the rights granted to use the car parking space in each of the claimants' leases cannot sensibly be construed as a demise of that space.” Source
• HM Land Registry Practice Guide 40 Supplement 5 — “Where other areas outside of the building are included in the lease, such as parking spaces, these will continue to be shown on the tenant’s title plan by red edging or other suitable reference.” Source
• Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 s.4 — “Where in the case of any such premises any part of the premises (such as, for example, a garage, parking space or storage area) is used, or intended for use, in conjunction with a particular dwelling contained in the premises (and accordingly is not comprised in any common parts of the premises), it shall be taken to be occupied, or intended to be occupied, for residential purposes.” Source
• Kettel v Bloomfold Ltd [2012] EWHC 1422 (Ch) — “An easement may of course be granted in terms which, expressly or by implication permit variation of the servient land, as recognised by Lightman J in the Greenwich case, and no doubt it may have been commercially sensible for the landlord if it had drafted the parking rights in such terms in this case, but there is no right of variation expressly set out and no basis, in my judgment, for such a right to be implied.” Source
• Kettel v Bloomfold Ltd [2012] EWHC 1422 (Ch) — “I would therefore have assessed damages in lieu of an injunction at £517,500, to be divided between the claimants.” Source
• LEASE, Lease-based rights — “Your landlord cannot take away rights given to you in the lease - this is known as “derogation from grant.”” Source
• Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 s.90 — “a sum to compensate for any substantial loss or disadvantage suffered by, as the case may be—” Source

Last reviewed September 2026.