Leasehold Definitions - Jargon Buster

Intermediate Landlord

An intermediate landlord (often called a head lessee) may be the person to whom you pay ground rent, as the intermediate landlord holds a finite leasehold title (as you do) they in turn will have to pay ground rent to the Freeholder. An intermediate landlord may make profit from his title, this would be because the ground rent he collects from all the lessees in the block exceeds the ground rent he has to pay the freeholder. And/or an intermediate landlord may hold a reversionary interest this could arise because the head lessee was granted an interest in the building for say 125 years and you as an under lessee were only granted a term of 99 years. This would mean that for 26 years the head lessee has a right to your flat before he would have to give it back to the Freeholder.