A flying freehold is assessed on the proportion affected and on the rights of support and access in your title. This explains what one is, distinguishes it from two things it is constantly confused with, and sets out what a solicitor rather than a valuer decides.
Before anything else: check which of three different things you actually have. People are told they own a freehold flat when they own a share of freehold, and those get opposite answers.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
These get used interchangeably and they are not interchangeable. The statuses below come from two providers’ published criteria, opened on 6 September 2026, and are dated examples rather than a market standard.
Part of your freehold property sits above land or a building somebody else owns, or theirs sits above yours. A bedroom over a shared passage, a room above an archway, a basement extending under next door.
Assessed on the proportion and on the rights in your title.
A flat sold as a freehold rather than a lease. It is rare, and it is a problem because the obligations between flats in a building are very hard to enforce without a lease structure.
Declined by both lenders whose criteria we hold.
You own a leasehold flat and also own a share of the company or the title that owns the building. Very common, and completely different from a freehold flat.
Neither of those lenders declines this. Pure Retirement say in terms that all of their lifetime mortgages can consider leasehold flats where the applicant owns part or all of the freehold.
If you are not certain which you have, your solicitor can tell you from the title in one question, and it is the most useful question on this page.
“A flying freehold refers to freehold property built over land which does not form part of the property.”
RICS, opened 6 September 2026
RICS note they turn up in medieval buildings in towns such as York and Chester, with rooms built across passageways, basement vaults and archways through rear courtyards, and in areas where houses are built on steep hills.
In practice it is usually far more ordinary than that: a bedroom over a shared passage between two terraced houses, or a room above an archway.
“Properties with up to 15% flying freehold” — Accept
Legal & General, opened 6 September 2026. A published proportion, which is unusual in this cluster. It is one provider's rule on one date and other lenders set their own, but it does tell a reader what kind of number is being thought about.
“Common problems associated with flying freeholds are problems with repairs, access and enforcing covenants.”
RICS also note that “there is no automatic right to access for erecting scaffolding on the land underneath”. The Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 allows access to carry out repairs, but not for redevelopment.
Which is why this ends up being a question about your deeds rather than about your building. A valuer reports what is there; a solicitor reads what rights you have.
“Chartered surveyors when carrying out site inspections for home surveys or valuation purposes and solicitors and licensed conveyancers during the conveyancing process need to be aware of the existence of flying freeholds and ensure that they advise their clients accordingly.”
Two professions, and neither of them is us. What we can do is tell you what they will be looking at, so that when one of them raises it you already know what the question means.
An official copy of your title from the Land Registry costs a few pounds and answers most of this. It is the single most useful document you can be holding.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
Whether your property would be accepted. What proportion of it is flying freehold, which we cannot see. What your deeds say about rights of support and access, which is a solicitor’s reading of your own title. And nothing about whether to take out indemnity insurance: whether a policy is relevant, what it covers and who arranges it are conveyancing questions.
The first three are for a solicitor. Ask that first one before you do anything else.
Which of the three do I actually have?
Ask a solicitor before anything else. People are told they have a freehold flat when they have a share of freehold, and the two get opposite answers.
What proportion of my property is flying freehold?
One lender publishes a threshold at 15%. A rough proportion from the title plan lets an adviser rule products in or out quickly.
Does my title give adequate rights of support and of entry to repair?
A solicitor question, from the deeds. RICS say this is what lenders look for confirmation of.
Is an indemnity policy relevant here, and who would arrange it?
Ask, do not assume. Whether a policy is needed and what it covers are conveyancing matters and nothing we can tell you.
If a lender declines, is it the flying freehold or the title rights?
Get the reason in writing. They are different problems and only one of them can sometimes be solved.
Short answers to the things that come up most. None of it is advice, and every figure on this page carries its source.
RICS define it as freehold property built over land which does not form part of the property. A bedroom over a shared passage, a room above an archway, or a basement extending under next door.
RICS list the common problems as repairs, access and enforcing covenants. There is also no automatic right to access for erecting scaffolding on the land underneath.
One lender publishes properties with up to 15% flying freehold, which is unusually specific for this subject. It is one provider rule on one date and others set their own, but it does show what kind of proportion is being thought about.
The Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 allows access to carry out repairs, but not for redevelopment. That distinction is why the arrangement is assessed rather than simply accepted.
It is worth checking, because a flying freehold, a freehold flat and a share of freehold are three different things and readers arrive having been told they have one when they have another. Those get different answers from the same lender.
Equity release may involve a lifetime mortgage, secured against your property, or a home reversion plan. It will reduce the value of your estate and impact funding long-term care.
One qualified equity release adviser. They will go through your figures and tell you if there is a better answer. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and Vimeo. Say no and none of them loads. What each one stores, and what Microsoft use theirs for.