Freehold Land Tenure System is the way of owning land in Perpetuity or Time Without end and was set up by an agreement between the Kingdoms and the British Government. Grants of land in freehold were made by the Crown and later by the Uganda Land Commission. The grantee of land in freehold was and is entitled to a certificate of title. Most of this land was issued to church missionaries and academic Institutions and some individuals. Freehold is the premier mode of private land ownership under English law. Freehold tenure is among other four types of land tenure systems in Uganda under which people hold ownership of land.

The Land Act recognizes it as one of the four regimes through which access to land rights may be obtained. Its incidents are defined to include registration of title in perpetuity and conferment of full powers of ownership that is the power of use, abuse and disposition. Transactions involving freehold land are governed by the Registration of Titles Act (Cap. 230). There is little land is held under freehold tenure in Uganda.

The 1998 Uganda Land Act defines ‘freehold tenure’ as a land tenure that develops its legitimacy from the Constitution and the written law. Freehold tenure might comprise of a grant of land ownership in eternity. The Land Act specifies that the freehold land holder has full powers of ownership over it. This implies that that person may use it for any legalized purpose like selling, letting, leasing and disposing it off by will or execute it in any way as he may deem it right and prudent. It is only Ugandan citizens that are legally entitled to own land under the freehold tenure system. Certificates of title for this tenure are pursued directly via government authorities which involve the Sub-county land office, the district land office plus the Ministry of Lands zonal offices.

Other Land Tenure Systems in Uganda
Besides the freehold tenure, Uganda has other land tenure systems under which land can be owned and used. These include Mailo land tenure system, leasehold tenure system and customary land tenure system in Uganda. Under these tenure systems, property owners are issued with land titles which confirm ownerships. Mailo land is issued with private mailo title, freehold also gets Freehold titles and well as Leasehold title for the leasehold tenure.