Ground rent
What is ground rent?
Ground rent is a payment a leaseholder makes to the freeholder (landlord) as a condition of their lease.
When you own a leasehold property, you own the property for the length of the lease, but you do not own the land it’s built on. You may need to pay ground rent each year for the right to occupy the land.
If you do not pay ground rent that you owe, you could be breaching the terms of your lease.
Ground rent is separate from service charges, which you pay for services the landlord provides to maintain the building.
Cost of ground rent
Whether you'll need to pay ground rent depends on your lease.
Your lease will set out the amount of any ground rent you pay, when you pay it and how any increases are calculated.
It’s often a fairly small amount, such as £50 or £100 a year.
But some leases allow it to increase to a high amount that could cause problems such as affecting the value of the property.
There are things you can do if high ground rent is a problem for your property.
- Last updated:
- 27 January 2026
- Next review:
- 27 January 2028
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