Purchase Your Freehold Services

Purchasing your freehold is a collaborative process and involves a group of leaseholders agreeing to purchase the building’s freehold. The benefits far outweigh the cons, and experts like ours at the Freehold Collective are here to assist you in making freehold ownership hassle-free, straightforward and rewarding.

Our Collective Freehold Purchase Service

Our collective freehold purchase service guides groups of flat owners through every stage of buying the freehold of their building, from the first conversation with neighbours through to long-term ownership. This page explains what collective enfranchisement is, who qualifies, why it’s worth pursuing, and how the Freehold Collective’s proven process makes it achievable.

We are specialist project managers, not solicitors. That means we sit alongside your legal team to manage the stress of recruiting your neighbours, coordinate the group, manage negotiations, and ensure the process stays on track from start to finish. Whether your building has only two flats or dozens of leaseholders, our service is built around getting you to a successful freehold acquisition at a fair price and without unnecessary delays.

If you’re ready to explore whether your building qualifies, or you simply want to understand your options, get in touch for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Freehold papers being signed

Begin Your Freehold Journey Today

Send us a brief message on any leasehold or freehold matter, and we’ll be in touch to book your free initial consultation.

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The TFC Freehold Purchasing Process

The journey to purchasing your freehold starts with consulting us. At the Freehold Collective we’re project managers that have been there and done that. Our founder, Mike, undertook his first freehold acquisition when he became disenchanted with how his building was being run. Building on Mike’s personal experience, we crafted a tried, tested and honed process that guarantees success for other freehold purchasers. It looks a bit like this:

Phase 1

Inception

Inception is the most important phase in our service. It sets up your entire Freehold Acquisition. As part of our inception service, we communicate, engage and recruit your neighbours and then organise them into a group, which often takes the form of a company. We then analyse the value of your Freehold, and begin our proven groundwork for a successful Freehold Acquisition.

Phase 2

Acquisition

In the acquisition phase, we negotiate with freeholders. Our expertise tells us that the acquisition phase is the most unpredictable of all as it depends on several variables, such as the Freeholder's approach to negotiations. Here, our services provide assistance with those negotiations through a meticulous and dedicated approach that ensures you will be successful in not only acquiring your Freehold, but acquiring it at a fair market price or less.

Phase 3

Ownership

Finally, in our ownership phase, which is where some Freeholders can feel out on their own and unsure of where to start. We prevent that by offering our consultation service. Not only will you have your share of Freehold and 999 year modernised leases, you'll have our help to structure your group in a way that maximises the potential of your Freehold. Afterwards, you'll be able to reap the benefits of your homes and investments long into the future.

Our Work: Case Studies

We have helped leaseholders across England acquire the share of the freehold of their buildings, from disorganised groups facing hostile freeholders to buildings with complex valuations and tight deadlines. Here are four examples of how we helped flat owners get the result they needed; and how we could help you do the same.

old building

Langton Priory

A previous freehold purchase attempt had collapsed, and the freehold had since passed to administrators. We took the group from a failed, unstructured position to 100% participation, negotiated directly with the administrators outside the act and secured the freehold within the £140,000-£210,000 valuation range.
View case study

Garden Lodge Court

A Section 5b notice triggered an auction deadline before leaseholders had organised. We brought 10 of 12 flat owners together quickly, exercised their right of first refusal at the auction price and saving a vast amount compared to a separate acquisition process and corrected outdated lease terms post-completion.
View case study
freehold flats block

Lancaster Court, Central London

Leaseholders had tried and failed to organise for over 20 years. We recruited 31 of 34 qualifying residents and negotiated the freehold purchase price down from a £7.9 million counter-notice to £2 million, while resolving a disputed £500,000 liability claim from the freeholder, securing a positive result for the leaseholders.
View case study

Can you own the freehold of a flat?

A freehold refers to the ownership of a property and the land it stands on, unlike leasehold, where you own the right to occupy a flat or leasehold house for a set number of years and typically pay annual rent to the freeholder. Owning the freehold means you’re no longer subject to a landlord’s rules or rising ground rent charges, and you have the authority to grant lease extensions, decide how the building is managed, and set fairer terms for all residents.

It’s not possible to own the freehold of a flat independently, but it is possible for a group of flat owners to collectively own the freehold of a building. To purchase the freehold of a flat, at least half of all other leaseholders in the same building must also show willingness to purchase the building’s freehold. This can sound daunting, but it needn’t be. For example if a building has four flats, only two flats would need to want to buy the freehold to begin the process.

Smaller groups can purchase freeholds just with signatures of cooperation from other leaseholders, and at the Freehold Collective, we can provide our expertise to help you approach your neighbours in a way that also doesn’t make it sound as ominous to them.

For an instant estimation of the value of your freehold, try our Freehold Purchase Calculator.

Find out how we can help you on your freehold purchase journey!
House keys on a freehold property
Legal documents

Legal eligibility requirements

The legal eligibility requirements to be aware of when purchasing a freehold are:

  • The building must contain at least two flats
  • Less than 25% of the freehold building must be under a commercial lease, i.e: being used for non-residential purposes such as an office or shop
  • At least two-thirds of all flats or apartments in the building must be owned by leaseholders with long leases (a long lease is one granted for more than 21 years)

Is it worth buying the freehold of my flat?

The benefits of buying the freehold of a flat are substantial and include, but are not limited to:

  • Removing the obligation to pay ground rent for freehold owner, whilst collecting ground rent from other non-freeholders
  • Ability to take out insurance plans which are more comprehensive or affordable
  • Reducing service charges through finding better, or more affordable service providers
  • Full oversight of the quality of works and maintenance done to the building
  • Ability to develop land around the building or roof spaces to build flats for profit
  • Ability to make lease extensions free and extended to as long as 999 years at no extra cost, barring legal fees
  • Ability to reduce or change building terms and conditions
  • Ability to add value to the building as buyers tend to prefer freehold flats to those of leasehold
  • Ability to overall take better control of how the building is managed
Ground rent document
Block of flats

Different types of freehold

At the Freehold Collective we can help with purchasing the freehold on a wide array of block types, including:

  • Purpose built blocks
  • Conversions
  • New builds
  • Luxury blocks

FAQs

In theory owning a 999 year lease is as good as owning the freehold. A 999 year lease does provide benefits such as reassurances around the security of owning the property, and will also outline rights and responsibilities of residents. However, it has the disadvantage of you still being underneath a freeholder, who can hold you to account and cause problems. By buying the freehold, you as a leaseholder will be in complete control, and there won’t be anyone above your head.
The length of the purchasing process can vary depending on the circumstances involved. As there are many stages to a purchasing process, like forming a collective residents group, negotiating with residents and landlords, and then seeing the process through legal stages, a purchase of the freehold could conclude in as little as 6 months, or as long as 2 years!
Yes, an owner of a share of freehold of a building will own a share of the building’s freehold which includes a share of the land the building is placed upon. Because of this, freeholders are responsible for maintaining the property and the land surrounding the building, but this is normally achieved very easily through a managing agent as normal.

Book a Free Consultation

We’d love to hear from you. Send us a brief message on any leasehold or freehold matter, and we’ll be in touch to book your free initial consultation.

Our free, no obligation, consultation will include:

  • A brief review of the Land Registry information relating to a flat or building
  • A discussion around the specific problems faced by a leaseholders
  • Feedback based on our review Land Registry records and other information relating to your specific flat or building
  • Advice on your options, pros and cons of the the best way to solve your problems and realise additional long term benefits of your property