The freehold title is the public record of who owns the freehold of your building, what restrictions and covenants run with it, and what charges (mortgages, registered restrictions) sit on it. Anyone can buy a copy from HM Land Registry for £3, with the title plan for £7. If you are a leaseholder, a director, or a buyer, knowing what is on the freehold title is foundational.
The freehold title tells you four things that are not always volunteered: who actually owns the freehold today, whether anyone has a charge over it (such as a mortgage), what covenants and restrictions run with the freehold (which can affect your lease), and the registered title plan showing the freehold extent.
For leaseholders: if you are buying or considering an extension or enfranchisement, the freehold title is your starting point. It confirms the freeholder's identity and reveals any charges or restrictions that affect what they can sell or grant.
For directors of an SoF, RTM, or RMC: if your company holds the freehold, the title shows what is registered against it. Misalignment between the company records and the title can cause problems at sale or in dispute.
For buyers: your conveyancer should pull both the leasehold and freehold titles. It is worth checking they have. The freehold title sometimes shows restrictive covenants that the seller has not mentioned.
Anyone can buy a copy. You do not need to be the owner. The full process takes about three minutes and the documents are emailed within 24 hours (often immediately).
The text-only document showing ownership, charges, restrictions, and incorporated covenants. This is what most people need first.
The text plus the colour-coded plan showing the freehold extent. Worth getting if there are boundary or extent questions.
Free service that emails you when activity happens against the title (e.g. a new charge, a transfer). Useful if you are concerned about freeholder changes.
Where: gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land. The official HM Land Registry portal. Avoid third-party sites that charge more for the same documents.
What you need: the address of the property. The portal searches by address and shows the matching titles. The freehold title number usually starts with the local county prefixe.g. SGL, NGL for London; WSX for West Sussex; LAN for Lancashire. Title numbers are unique within HMLR. HMLR documentation →.
Speed: Most title registers are downloadable immediately. Some go through a manual review and arrive within 24 hours.
The title register is divided into three parts (called the "registers"). Each part contains specific information. Read them in order.
Describes the freehold (the land), refers to the title plan, and notes any rights that benefit the property (e.g. rights of way granted by neighbouring titles).
The current registered owner (name and, often, address). The class of title (Absolute, Possessory, Qualified). Any restrictions on disposal (e.g. a Form A restriction for trustees).
Mortgages, restrictive covenants, easements granted to others, and any other matters that burden the freehold. This is usually the most-revealing part.
What to look for in the Charges Register:
Existing charges (mortgages). If the freeholder has a mortgage on the freehold, that lender consents to certain things and not others. Lease extensions, sales, and major changes may need lender approval.
Restrictive covenants. Limits on what the freeholder can do with the land. E.g. "no building above three storeys", "no business use", "no separate sale of any part". These can affect your lease and any future development.
Easements granted. Rights of way, drainage, services granted to neighbouring titles. These run with the land.
Section 24 LTA 1987 management orders. If a tribunal has appointed a manager under s.24 LTA 1987The First-tier Tribunal can appoint a manager to take over management of a building where the freeholder is in serious breach of obligations. s.24 LTA 1987 →, the order may be noted on the title.
If the freeholder is a private investor (not the leaseholders themselves), check who owns the freehold's parent company too. Freeholds are sometimes held in shell companies whose ownership is not obvious from the title alone. If the freeholder is overseas, that can affect enforcement, the cost of extension premiums, and how easily you can communicate.
1. Run the audit. The Building Trust compliance audit asks for the freehold title number and freeholder name as part of step one. You will need the title to confirm.
2. Plan a lease extension or enfranchisement. The freeholder you serve a notice on must be the registered freeholder shown on the title. If the registered owner has changed (e.g. recent freehold sale), serving on the wrong party invalidates the notice. Check immediately before serving.
3. Investigate covenants and restrictions before any major works. Restrictive covenants on the freehold (e.g. "no extensions") can override what your lease appears to permit. Check before you commission any change to the building.
The title is the document. The next step depends on why you wanted it.
Direct link to the official HM Land Registry portal. £3 for register, £7 with plan.
Open HMLR portal →Use the title and your lease to populate the 21-obligation audit. Five minutes, free, no email required.
Run the audit →If the title shows what you needed to know, the next step might be a lease extension or deed of variation.
Open the guide →The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) is the government-funded, independent body that provides free initial advice to leaseholders, RMC and RTM directors, and freeholders in England and Wales. They are the natural first call for anything statute-heavy.
The Building Trust assistant can route you to the right page, explain a clause, or get you started with LEASE-iQ. First question is free.
Want a written, clause-cited answer in 24 hours instead? Talk to us →