The following overview records the market position, legal landscape, and enquiries raised during 2016 (following the EU referendum). At that time, a cooling market led mortgage lenders to tighten compliance checks under the CML Handbook (now the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook), placing heavy scrutiny on “problematic properties” such as flying freeholds.
While these queries highlight the confusion surrounding non-standard titles back in 2016, the core legal challenge remains the same today: establishing what rights of support exist and what your lender required when you bought. If a missing document, lack of covenants, or lender query is delaying your current sale or remortgage, exploring how your title was handled during the original transaction is often the best starting point. Read the complete guide on flying freehold issues when selling or remortgaging to understand what records matter and how to resolve title defects.
The 2016 Post:
Post-Brexit figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) highlight a slowing housing market. Unsurprisingly, “problematic properties”, those with unusual titles or physical characteristics are proving increasingly difficult to sell.
Specialist portal flying-freehold.com reported a ten-fold increase in flying freehold enquiries in August. This surge includes calls from sellers surprised that their conveyancers failed to explain how mortgage lenders react to these titles—raising questions around potential professional negligence claims.
Lexsure previously reported that CML Handbook updates focused heavily on problematic property types, including flying freeholds, absentee freeholders, and short leases.
Common Flying Freehold Queries
Below are typical scenarios and queries recently submitted to Lexsure:
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Buying Adjoining Cottages with a Shared Archway:
“I am buying two adjoining cottages which have a shared archway that runs under the rooms above. So there is a flying freehold, which is fine for me as I will own both, but how do I protect myself during the purchase so that in the future I can sell them individually without problems?”
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Inherited Property Deemed “Unmortgageable”:
“I inherited a property from my father in South Wales which has a flying freehold, but I don’t have very much documentation. I have been told that it is ‘unmortgageable’ because of this, but I want to investigate further. What documentation should I expect to have for a flying freehold?”
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Sales Particulars Disclosures:
“I was just wondering if details of a flying freehold have to be added in sales details when selling the property?”
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Garage Sold Off Separately:
“I am interested in a property where a garage below has been sold off. This has created a flying freehold—would it be possible to get a mortgage?”
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