The title split process, step by step
One freehold goes in, a set of separately registered leasehold flats comes out. Here is how that actually happens: the three routes you can take, the structure every split needs, and the eight steps from first look to registered titles.
The short answer
A title split takes one registered title and turns it into several. For a block of flats, that means the freehold stays as one title and each flat gets its own long lease, registered at HM Land Registry with its own title number and its own plan. Nothing changes on the ground. What changes is how the building is carved up on paper, and that is what lenders, valuers and buyers respond to.
The process has a fixed shape whichever route you take: prepare before you own it, grant the leases when you complete, then get them registered. The rest of this page is that shape in detail.
Three routes, one process
| Route | How it works | When it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Split on acquisition | Buy and split on the same day. The lender values the flats individually, on the assumption the split has happened, and lends against that higher figure | The route most of our clients use. Reduces or removes the deposit, because the loan is sized off the split value, not the block price |
| Split on refinance | Buy the block whole on a term loan or a bridge, hold it, then split at refinance | A seller who needs a fast completion, or a block whose compliance, condition or tenancies need fixing before a valuer sees it. More money up front, sometimes a better outcome |
| Split on sale | Split one flat at a time as each is sold, each buyer taking a new lease. The freehold often passes to the residents at the end | Conversions and developments, where you never carry the full cost of a group split because it happens as you exit |
There is a fourth idea that comes up in every cohort: agree a price, then ask the seller to split the block and hand you the individual leases. We tell clients not to. It spooks sellers. Their solicitor explains that the flats are worth more apart than together, the price goes up or the deal dies, and the stamp duty position may change too. Buy it whole. Split it yourself.
The structure every split needs
You cannot grant a lease to yourself. A lease needs a landlord and a tenant, and they cannot be the same legal person. So every title split needs two entities: a company that holds the freehold and a company that takes the leases. In practice that is a holding company at the top which buys the block, and a subsidiary underneath it which receives the leases on completion day.
Why a group, rather than two unrelated companies? Stamp duty. Buying the freehold and then granting leases into an unconnected company would be two transactions, each with its own charge. Keeping the subsidiary inside the same group avoids the second one. That is the whole reason the structure exists, and it has to be in place before completion, not arranged afterwards.
The end state is that the freehold company owns a title that is worth little on its own, and the subsidiary owns the leasehold flats, which is where the value and the rent sit. The two are run as separate things even though they are commonly owned: repairs inside a flat belong to the leasehold company, repairs to the roof belong to the freeholder and are recharged through a service charge, and buildings insurance is one block policy through the freehold company rather than a policy per flat.
The eight steps
- Qualify the block. Freehold, flats above about 30 square metres, utilities already separated, and a value uplift from splitting that survives the costs. If it fails these, the rest of the process is wasted effort. The full list is in the title split checklist.
- Demand the compliance documents at negotiation. An EPC for each flat, electrical reports, gas certificates, a fire risk assessment, an asbestos survey where the building needs one, and the seller's buildings insurance documents. Missing paperwork is the commonest reason a split stalls, and asking early tells you why the building has not sold.
- Get the lease plans drawn early. A Land Registry compliant plan for each flat, from a specialist, showing what is inside each flat and what is shared: hallways, bin stores, bike stores, gardens. Drawing them early surfaces every argument about shared space before the solicitors are on the clock.
- Set up the structure. The holding company and the leasehold subsidiary, incorporated and ready, with an accountant who understands property and a tax adviser who understands property tax. A generalist accountant will not steer you here.
- Line up the finance and the valuation. A broker who does title splits regularly, a lender whose criteria you understand, and a valuation on the special assumption that the split has happened. Mortgage first where it is available; a bridge only where the property or the seller's timescale will not allow a mortgage.
- Instruct a solicitor who does splits every week. Their due diligence covers the title, the leases and the lender's requirements. It does not cover whether the deal is a good one; that is your job and your mentor's.
- Complete, and grant the leases the same day. The purchase completes into the freehold company and the leases drop down into the subsidiary on the same day. From that moment the block is a set of individual leasehold flats, and the lender's loan is secured against them.
- Register, and chase. Applications go to Land Registry for each new title. Registration is discretionary, not automatic, and left alone it can take around 18 months. Ask your solicitor to expedite, and chase every fortnight. Three to six months is the target. The detail is in how long a title split takes.
What makes a split actually saleable
A badly structured split can register and still be close to worthless. For each new title to be a genuinely mortgageable, saleable asset, the leases have to deal with rights of way and access, the shared amenities (bin store, bike store, communal garden, hallways), and the restrictive covenants that keep a block liveable: use, noise, pets. HM Land Registry's own practice guidance on dividing titles explains why the process works the way it does; your solicitor will be working from the current version.
On lease terms, our practice is long leases, typically 999 years, with a low ground rent. The old game of short leases and meaningful ground rents, with the freeholder profiting from extensions later, is being closed down by leasehold reform. A long lease with low outgoings is what the widest pool of mainstream lenders and buyers wants, and that is what makes the split worth doing.
What you can do before you own it
Nothing that is actually a split. Even under an option or a lease option, you can draft the documents, draw the plans and agree the structure, but the leases cannot be granted until you own the building. One warning we pass on from the solicitors we work with: adding significant value to a property you do not yet own is where people get caught. One real case saw a buyer exchange on a property, add a great deal of value before completion, and then watch the seller refuse to complete. Secure the asset first, then add the value.
The process in one line
Qualify the block, get the paperwork and plans early, set up the two companies, arrange the finance on the split value, complete and grant the leases the same day, then chase Land Registry until every flat has its own title number.
Questions people ask about the title split process
What is a title split?
A title split is the legal process of dividing one registered title into two or more separate titles, each with its own Land Registry title number and its own registered plan. In the block of flats version, one freehold title is kept and a long lease is granted for each flat, so every flat becomes a separate leasehold title that can be mortgaged or sold on its own.
Can you grant a lease to yourself?
No. A lease needs a landlord and a tenant, and they cannot be the same legal person. That is why a title split needs two entities: typically a freehold company that owns the building and a subsidiary company that takes the new leases. The two sit in the same group so the lease grants do not trigger a second stamp duty charge.
Is a title split registered automatically?
No. Land Registry registering a new title is discretionary, not automatic, which is exactly why lenders will not lend against a title that only exists on request. A split has to be structured so it is legally certain to register: proper plans, properly drafted leases, rights of way and shared areas dealt with.
What is the difference between split on acquisition, split on refinance and split on sale?
Split on acquisition means buying and splitting on the same day and borrowing against the split value from day one, which is the route most of our clients use. Split on refinance means buying the block whole, holding it, then splitting when you refinance, which costs more up front but gives time to fix compliance or improve the tenancies. Split on sale means splitting one flat at a time as each is sold, which is common on conversions.
Should I ask the seller to split the block before I buy it?
In our experience that is the fastest way to lose the deal. The seller's solicitor will tell them the flats are worth more separately, the seller gets spooked, and the price goes up or the sale collapses. It may also change the stamp duty position. Buy the block whole and split it yourself on completion.
How long should the new leases be?
We grant long leases, typically 999 years, with a low ground rent. Short leases and meaningful ground rents used to be a freeholder's income, but leasehold reform has been closing that down, and a long lease with low outgoings is more mortgageable and more saleable to a wider pool of lenders and buyers. Check the current legislative position with your solicitor, because this area moves.
Got a block in mind?
Book a free fifteen minute call and tell me about it. I will tell you straight whether it looks like a split worth doing, what would get in the way, and what to check before you spend a penny.
Related reading
- What is a title split? The strategy from scratch, including when it creates value.
- How long does a title split take? The stage-by-stage timeline and why registration is the part to chase.
- How much does a title split cost? Every line of the bill, with the allowances we use.
- The title split checklist: what to look for in a block The five things we check before we offer, and the compliance documents to demand early.