Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Ownership definition

What does Ownership mean? In legal practice, ownership describes who has the bundle of rights over property: to possess, use, enjoy income, exclude others, transfer, or charge it, subject to law and third‑party rights (such as easements/servitudes, leases and security interests). It is a descriptive expression used across contexts (land, goods, shares, intellectual property), rather than a single statutory definition, though related concepts are defined in legislation and case law (for example, beneficial ownership in anti‑money laundering/PSC regimes and land registration rules). Across England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, lawyers commonly distinguish legal ownership (title shown on a register, deed or share register) from...

Residential leasehold flat developments: alternative structures, management arrangements, lender requirements and statutory considerations (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Property expert

Practice notes

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This Practice Note summarises several of the principal ways in which a residential flat project can be structured. It provides an overview of alternative leasehold flat arrangements for both developers and purchasers of residential flats.

A central issue in residential leasehold developments is securing adequate, enforceable covenants for the repair, Maintenance and insurance of the shared parts of the development (that is, the structure, foundations, roof, principal walls, internal and external communal areas and common services). It also addresses how obligations for the common parts are allocated among the key parties.

The following structures, and their differing approaches to apportioning responsibility for the shared parts between landlords, management companies and tenants, are considered:

developer/landlord retains the reversion and the management role
developer/landlord keeps the reversion but outsources management duties
developer/landlord keeps the reversion while tenants assume management duties
developer/landlord transfers the reversion and management functions to the tenants
‘criss-cross’ or ‘crossover’ arrangement
‘cat’s cradle’ arrangement

This Practice Note does not cover commonhold developments; for information on commonhold, see: Commonhold—overview and Practice Note: Residential flat schemes—leasehold v commonhold.

Lenders’ requirements

A purchaser of a residential flat will almost certainly acquire the property with the assistance of a mortgage...

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Russell Hewitson

Northumbria University

Russell Hewitson is a solicitor and associate professor of law at Northumbria University. He is Law Society Council member for commercial property and a member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing and Land Law Committee. Russell is the Consultant Editor of Halsbury’s Laws of England Volume 23 - Conveyancing. He is general editor of Precedents for the Conveyancer, Practical Lease Precedents, and Practical Conveyancing Precedents, consultant editor of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Handbook and has written a number of other books including Conveyancing Searches and Enquiries, Licensing Law Handbook, Residential Conveyancing Practice and Business Tenancies. He is also the Practice and Precedents Editor of The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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