From September leaseholders will have a new way of taking over the ownership of property, the government has announced.

Under the scheme called commonhold, property owners will own the freehold of their individual homes or business premises and have an interest in an association that will own and manage the common parts of the building or development in which they live or work.

Land Law Minister David Lammy said: "Commonhold will provide a viable means of owning freehold flats and other interdependent premises.”

"It will give people more choice by allowing them to own and manage their properties in different ways.”

"It will be an alternative to long leasehold ownership and apply equally to residential and commercial property.”

With commonhold, there is no landlord, and every resident or ‘unit holder’ in the property will have equal rights.

“Commonhold rests upon property owners coming together to manage their development as a whole. This will give them control and dispense with the need for a landlord," said David Lammy.

Commonhold ownership will only be possible on freehold land. Units - such as flats, offices or shops - will be owned as freeholds by individuals. The freehold of the remainder, known as the common parts, will be owned by a limited company, known as a commonhold association. All commonholds will be registered at Land Registry.

Converting from a leasehold block to one owned by commonhold will require the participation of all the leaseholders and the existing landlord.

The commonhold association will be responsible for the management of the common parts in accordance with the rules set out in the commonhold community statement for the commonhold in question. A copy of this document will be kept and be publicly available at the Land Registry.

Unlike leases, which vary considerably and are often hard to understand, commonhold community statements will be in a standard form and written in clear English.

Commonholds will come into force at the same time as the relevant provisions of Part 1 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, on Monday 27 September 2004.