What is a Lease?

A lease is a legal contract between you (the leaseholder), and the council (the landlord). It sets out the rules that you and the landlord must keep to.

Your lease is an important document, so please take the time to read it.

More about your lease

Changing the conditions of your lease after you buy is difficult, so it is worthwhile making sure that the services provided in the lease are those that you want or can accept.

Leaseholders are not necessarily entirely free to do whatever they want in or with the flat. That’s because the lease comes with conditions to protect the rights of everyone else within the building.

When a flat is sold, the seller ‘assigns’ (passes on) all the rights and responsibilities of the lease to the purchaser, as well as any future service charges that have not yet been invoiced. This also includes actual adjustments.

Like most legal documents, your lease contains lots of legal jargon. Help to understand it is available from your local Citizens Advice Bureau or your solicitor. Your solicitor may charge you for this service.

Always keep a copy of your lease in a safe place, so that you can refer to it in the future if you need to.

You may have a right to extend your lease.