"On the whole it’s the leasehold hotspots which have the lowest levels of burglary, anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime"
The research has found that rates of anti-social behaviour, burglary and vehicle crime are lower in the locations where leasehold properties are most common, when compared to their freehold counterparts.
Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move, said: “High density housing areas, where properties change hand frequently, have in the past, been associated with issue of crime and anti-social behaviour. However, our research suggests the opposite.
On the whole it’s the leasehold hotspots which have the lowest levels of burglary, anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime. We know that in general, leasehold homes are bought and sold more frequently than freehold properties – as their size and design are quickly outgrown. With a change in ownership often comes a renewed sense of pride in the property, as any damages are repaired and locks are changed. And as leasehold homes are usually closer to together, this means people really are able to ‘keep an eye’ on their neighbours’ property.”
Having analysed over 20 million property transaction records in England and Wales, My Home Move identified the leasehold and freehold hotspots for each county based on Land Registry data (see methodology below) and then compared the findings to UK crime statistics for the last 12 months.
On the whole, those choosing to buy and live in a leasehold area were safer when it came to incidents of burglary (entering a building with the intention to commit an offence such as theft), anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime. In comparison, for those in freehold hotspots it was their chances of experiencing a robbery (the taking of individual’s possessions by force) which reduced based on their postcode.
Doug continued: “Buying a leasehold property isn’t always the most straightforward of transactions, due to the third parties involved and additional administration charges, which is often a source of anxiety for new home buyers. However, the good news is that leasehold homes appear to be located in areas with lower crime rates. So for first-time buyers, the archetypal leasehold purchasers, this provides a reassuring detail for when they are making one of the biggest decisions of their life.”
Regionalised findings
When looked at across all four crime categories, the South East and East Midlands offered consistent results. The counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, alongside Hampshire and Kent, always saw highest levels of leasehold crime; while Leicestershire and Northamptonshire alongside Surrey and Sussex experienced higher levels of crime within their freehold hotspots during 2016.
