A flat, and some houses, are held on a lease for a fixed term: 99, 125 or 999 years from a start date. Part A of the leasehold title register states the lease's date, its term and the date the term runs from, and names the original parties. Years left is the start date plus the term, less today's date. The register may also note the freehold title above it.
Why the number matters
A short lease is harder to sell and harder to mortgage, and the cost of extending it rises as the years fall. Eighty years has long been the line below which extending becomes much dearer, because of what the law calls marriage value. Leasehold reforms passed in 2024 change the rules on extending and buying the freehold, and are being brought into force in stages; the Leasehold Advisory Service and GOV.UK give the current position, and a conveyancer advises on your own lease.
What the lease itself adds
The register gives the term. The lease gives the rest: the ground rent and how and when it rises, the share of the service charge, what you may and may not do (alterations, subletting, pets), and what the landlord promises in return. For a flat these are the terms a buyer's solicitor reads first, and HM Land Registry hold the lease as a filed document where the register says "copy filed".
What the check shows
The free check tells you whether the address is leasehold. The title register gives the term and the start date; the lease and register together give the words behind them.