Commonhold vs Leasehold: How Commonhold Works and Why It Matters

What commonhold is

Commonhold is a form of property ownership for blocks of flats introduced by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. In a commonhold building, each flat owner owns the freehold of their flat. The communal areas (entrance, hallways, lift, roof, gardens) are owned by a commonhold association, which is a company controlled collectively by the flat owners themselves.

Crucially, there is no third-party freeholder. There is no ground rent. There is no lease that can run out. Owners control the building through the commonhold association, set their own service charges, and decide on works collectively.

How it differs from leasehold

In a typical leasehold block, a freeholder owns the building and the leaseholders pay ground rent, pay a service charge controlled by the freeholder, and live under a lease that gets shorter every year. The freeholder usually has the upper hand on service charges, insurance commissions, and major works decisions.

Under commonhold, all of that disappears. The flat owners are the ultimate freeholders, collectively. They cannot have their lease run out because there is no lease. They cannot be charged escalating ground rent because there is no ground rent. They cannot have major works imposed on them because they vote on them.

Why commonhold has not taken off

Commonhold was introduced in 2002 but has barely been used. Fewer than 20 commonhold developments exist in England and Wales out of around 4.5 million leasehold homes. The reasons are:

• Lenders were initially reluctant to lend on commonhold because it was new and untested
• Developers preferred leasehold because it generates ongoing ground rent income
• Conversion from leasehold to commonhold requires unanimous (or near unanimous) leaseholder consent, which is hard to achieve in large blocks
• The legal framework had gaps that made commonhold harder to operate than leasehold in practice

Where commonhold stands now

The previous government committed to making commonhold the default for new flats and to making conversion from leasehold to commonhold easier. Some of this work was carried into the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, which improves the framework, but the headline change to make commonhold the default tenure for new flats requires further primary legislation that has not yet been introduced.

The current direction of travel is clear: commonhold is being positioned as the long-term replacement for new leasehold flats, but the timetable is uncertain.

What this means for buyers

If you are buying a flat in 2026, it is almost certainly leasehold rather than commonhold simply because there are so few commonhold buildings in existence. You should focus on the leasehold checks: lease length, ground rent, service charge history, and the freeholder's track record.

If you do come across a commonhold flat, it is generally a better long-term ownership form because you control the building collectively, but the small number of comparable transactions means valuation and resale can be slightly harder.

Check tenure before buying

Whatever you are buying, check the tenure first. Property Passport UK shows tenure (freehold, leasehold, or commonhold) sourced directly from HM Land Registry for every one of the 19.35 million properties in England and Wales. Search any address at [/search](/search) to confirm how a property is held before you make an offer.

Look up any leasehold property on Property Passport UK

Property Passport UK shows tenure (freehold or leasehold) sourced directly from HM Land Registry for every one of the 19.35 million properties in England and Wales. For leasehold properties, you can also see lease length, ground rent, and service charge information where it has been published. Search by postcode or address at [propertypassport.uk/search](/search), or look up an EPC at [/epc](/epc).

Related guides

• What is a leasehold property
• How to extend a lease
• Leasehold Reform Act 2024 explained
• Service charge disputes