The average cost of buying the freehold is around £5,987. This is based on the value of the house and a share of its marriage value. Your surveyor will take the current value of the property, the years left on the lease and the annual ground rent to calculate the premium.
Our figure was using an average leasehold of 99 years and the average UK house price. This is £270,000 as well as an average ground rent of around £304. [1][2]
This will vary on a case-by-case basis. Like house prices, it can be vastly different. The freehold for a 4-bedroom flat in London will cost more than the freehold on a studio flat in Hull.
Buying the Freehold Costs
Converting your leasehold to freehold involves a range of expenses beyond just the purchase price. Below is a full breakdown of all the typical costs you may need to cover during the process, including the freehold premium, professional fees, and legal charges.
Freehold Premium
RICS Valuation
Surveyor Fees
Solicitor Fees
Disbursements
Freeholder Fees
Stamp Duty
Setting Up a Company
You can read more about how much each of these costs, and whether they're necessary for you, in the detailed sections below.
1
Freehold Premium
As the leaseholder, you’ll need to pay the freeholder a premium to buy the freehold of the property. This typically costs around £5,987, though the exact amount depends on your home’s market value, lease length, and annual ground rent.
2
RICS Valuation
Each participating leaseholder is legally required to get a professional valuation (Collective Enfranchisement Valuation Report) of their property. Based on the average UK house price of £270,000, a valuation report will cost around £354. If a building contains 14 flats, you can expect to pay around £337 - £605 per flat. This is typically carried out by a RICS-accredited surveyor.
This cost covers the report itself. You’ll also need to pay additional fees for the surveyor’s time and services, explained below.
3
Surveyor Fees
On top of the report fee, surveyors typically charge for any extra work, such as:
Negotiating the freehold price with the freeholder’s surveyor
Providing ongoing advice
Attending meetings or site visits
These additional surveyor fees average around £509 per flat, but may vary depending on complexity and involvement.
4
Solicitor Fees
A Leasehold Enfranchisement solicitor is needed to handle the legal aspects of the freehold purchase, the average solictor fees for buying a freehold are £1,518. Conveyancing fees are dependent on the complexity and the number of leaseholders involved. Solicitor fees for leasehold tend to be higher due to the additional steps required.
5
Disbursements:
Disbursements are admin and third-party charges paid on top of your solicitor’s legal work. These are separate from your main conveyancing fees and can include bank transfer fees, ID checks and Land Registry charges.
You'll be responsible for covering the freeholder's reasonable costs, which usually include their legal and surveyor fees.
These fees are generally in line with standard conveyancing costs for a property sale, which average around £887. In addition, you should expect to cover surveyor costs, with the average survey in the UK costing approximately £354.
7
Stamp Duty:
By law, if the freehold costs more than £125,000 in England and Northern Ireland, you must pay stamp duty on the portion over that threshold.
The percentage varies by country:
Country
Stamp Duty Percentage
England
2% - 12%
Northern Ireland
2% - 12%
Wales
6% - 12%
Scotland
2% - 12%
8
Setting Up Company:
If more than one leaseholder is buying the freehold, it's common to set up a company to manage ownership. Setting up a company usually costs £100. [6]
Buying the freehold can give leaseholders more control over the property, but it is not the right choice for everyone.
Before deciding, weigh the upfront cost, legal process, responsibilities, and long-term benefit. A solicitor and valuation surveyor can explain what applies to your property.
See a list of the main pros and cons below:
Advantages:
Complete ownership of your property and long-term security
Control over how the property is altered, managed and maintained
Adds value to the property (around 1% extra)
Makes the property more attractive to potential future buyers
The lease is usually extended for free (typically to 999 years)
Cheaper in the long run (no maintenance charges or ground rent)
Doesn't cost much more than extending the lease
Disadvantages:
Upfront cost of around £8,500
Requires coordination with neighbours if it's a flat
You become responsible for building work, maintenance, and repair costs
Not necessarily. A lot of people assume that extending the lease is cheaper than buying the freehold. However, in the majority of instances, the costs are surprisingly similar.
Buying the freehold can also save you more in the long run. You’ll no longer pay ground rent, and you’ll have full control over how your property is managed.
Plus, when you buy the freehold, the lease is usually extended to 999 years automatically.
Unless you're dealing with a very short lease or only want a quick fix, buying the freehold is often the much better value overall.
Use an online Freehold Calculator to provide a rough estimate of your specific costs.
How Much Value Does Buying the Freehold Add?
Buying the freehold may make a property more attractive to some buyers, especially where lease length or ground rent could otherwise be a concern.
If the property is valued at a reasonable price, this can be significant when it comes to equity in the property and selling.
If you’re buying the freehold before selling, it’s also worth factoring in the wider legal costs of a sale. Our guide to solicitor fees for selling a house explains what sellers usually need to budget for.
In recent times, we've noticed that leasehold laws have changed, typically in favour of the leaseholder. Now, leaseholders have more control and rights.
These laws change often, so it's important to stay on top of them to know how they impact you and whether it's worth waiting until a specific law comes into force before taking action.
Change
Current Status
Impact
Marriage Value Abolished
Bill stage (not yet in force)
Expected to cut premiums on leases <80 years by ~15%.
990-Year Statutory Lease Extensions
Passed
Reduces need for repeated extensions
Peppercorn Ground Rent on new Leases
In force
New properties can't charge ground rent
Ban on new Leasehold Houses
Scheduled for 2026
All new-builds to be freehold by default
How to Calculate the Cost of Converting The Freehold
The cost of converting the freehold can be broken down into the following simple equation:
The value of the property the freehold receives when the lease finishes + the value of the ground rent + the marriage value (if there are less than 80 years left on the lease).
The figure you are left with is the total cost of converting the freehold, which can then be added to other additional costs and disbursements to get the total cost.
If you’re buying the freehold as part of a wider move, remember to budget for other legal costs too. Our guide to solicitor fees for buying a house explains the typical charges involved in a property purchase.
Life's big decisions deserve cost information you can trust. The figures in this guide are based on real prices received by thousands of Konnect You users. We review this data regularly to keep it accurate and up to date, so it reflects what people are really paying. Read more about how we get our cost data.
