flying freehold

English

Etymology

From the idea that the "ground" on which the freehold estate stands is above the actual ground, and hence that the freehold is flying.

Noun

flying freehold (plural flying freeholds)

1. (law, UK) The freehold of property in an upper storey above a lower storey that belongs to a different freehold; the converse of creeping freehold.
   • 1994, Justice of the Peace & Local Government Law:

     These flying freehold rights are more trouble than they are worth because all sorts of complicated covenants and easements have to be confirmed to ensure that there are no doubts over who is responsible for roof repairs and to guarantee that there are no arguments over access.

   • 2004, Sarah O'Grady, The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Property:

     We have made a modification whereby we have 'taken' part of the loft of one to give to next door (this enables us to gain easy access to loft space and therefore create another bedroom). This now protrudes over next door by about 5ft. I understand this has created a situation known as 'flying freehold', which apparently makes a property difficult to sell and to mortgage.

   • 2018, Judith-Anne MacKenzie, Aruna Nair, Textbook on Land Law, page 618:

     This approach to the freehold estate seems, however, to be an unnecessary complication and it has been pointed out for centuries that there is no real justification for the view that there is some difficulty involved in creating a flying freehold.