[catchmilk]

The worst part about the UK (specifically London, not 100% sure about the rest), is that even when you buy a property (assuming it's a leasehold), then you're again at the mercy of the freeholder. Depending on your lease - you'll still be paying rent (ground rent) in addition to service charge and building insurance. Technically, you're only 'renting' the property for the lifetime of the lease. All from probably someone who was merely lucky enough to have been born into an aristocratic family, or a money-hungry company.

It's an embarrassingly archaic and unfair system. God forbid working families want to own their own home/land in this country (city).

[philjohn]

And there are fun leasehold arrangements like "The ground rent doubles every 5 years"

Starting from a peppercorn value, this quickly amps up to hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of £ a year.

It's the wheat and chessboard problem[1] made concrete

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_and_chessboard_problem

[alexgmcm]

Is leasehold that common outside of London?

My parents own their property as freehold, and it's only an hour from London by train.

Tbh, I just ended up emigrating as the property market was so bad it felt hopeless.

[gpderetta]

Leasehold is pretty much guaranteed for flats, outside of Scotland. Of course flats might be more common in London than elsewhere.

There are leasehold houses but I believe these days they are actually outlawed for new builds; of course builders found other creative "solutions" to extract rent even from freeholds, which are not protected by leaseholder rights.