Glossary of Terms

Arrears - These are the sum total of late or overdue payments for ground rent, maintenance charges or any other regular payment.

Arrears fee  - This is a fee charged to cover additional administrative costs.

Back Letter  - This is an agreement, often between a Landlord and a tenant, that is binding on each party but is not referred to in the actual Lease for commercial reasons.

Buildings and Contents Insurance - Buildings and contents insurance can often be purchased together protecting both the building structure and your belongings and possessions inside.

Buildings Insurance - Buildings insurance is designed to give you financial protection for the basic structure of your home such as the walls roof and foundations. This usually includes any external parts of the property such as your shed garage conservatory or greenhouse.

Bungalow  - A property which is built all on one level and therefore has no upstairs. This definition could also apply to a flat but would exclude a chalet bungalow.

Chief Rent - A payment made on freehold land to the original freeholder for an infinite period, sometimes known as a Rentcharge. The amount payable frequency and any other conditions or restrictions on use of the property are set out in the conveyance which created the rentcharge. Distinct from ground rent which has a finite period.

Common Parts  - The parts of the building used by all residents, such as the front entrance and lobby, common staircase and common hallways.

Completion - When the sale and purchase of the property are finalised, and you become the owner of the house or flat.

Completion Statement - This is a record of all the payments made and monies received during the transaction of buying your home.

Contents insurance  - Insurance cover for your possessions. This may include cover against loss or damage away from the home.

Contracts  - The legal documents under which you and the person selling the property agree to buy and sell the property.

Conveyance - This is usually the original document passing the property from the original owner to the purchaser when the property was first built. It may include payment of a rentcharge or chief rent and other conditions as to how the property may be used.

Covenant - a legally-binding promise, as referred to in leases.

Deed of Covenant - This is a document which confirms that the buyer of a property will comply with the rules and conditions affecting the property which can be found in the Title Deed or Lease.

Deeds - These are the documents which contain all the information about a property such as the owner and the rules affecting the property. These are often held by the mortgage lender to ensure they can take possession of the property should you default on the repayments.

Disposition - The flat or house that is subject of the lease.

Easement - The legal term for the right to use someone else's property such as a shared driveway or a footpath.

Excambion - Is a contract under which one piece of land is exchanged for another.

Exchange of contracts  - The point where you and the person selling the property sign and swap identical contracts that show the price and what fixtures and fittings are being sold, as well as a date when everything will be finalised. When you exchange contracts the deal becomes legally binding, and if you or the seller pull out before completion, you or they will have to pay compensation to the other side.

Extra cover or accidental cover - This is insurance against damage to the structure of your property and its contents - for instance, putting your foot through the ceiling or spilling paint on the carpet.

Feu - A feudal holding. To feu is, strictly, to give out land upon a feudal arrangement, whereby the buyer (vassal) holds land of the landowner (superior), often upon condition that he builds on the land and pays a perpetual rent or feuduty. He remains the owner so long as he pays and observes such conditions. A piece of land that is feued is sometimes therefore referred to as a feu.

Fittings - Are moveable articles temporarily attached to or connected with land and property.

Fixtures - Are articles in themselves moveable but so attached or connected to heritable property as to become part of it.

Flying Freehold - A flying freehold occurs when part of a freehold property overhangs part of a different freehold property or land and is usually formed when a property is split into two or more freeholds. Can be part or all of a property.

Freehold - This means that you own the property outright as opposed to leasehold where you own the rights to occupy a property for a specified period of time.

Freeholder - The person or persons who own a property outright.

FRI Lease - This means a full repairing and insuring lease, i.e. the tenant is responsible for the cost of all repairs/ maintenance and insurance.

Ground rent - This applies only to leasehold properties and is a sum paid annually to the freeholder by the leaseholder. Need not be an annual payment. It can be quarterly, half-yearly, etc.

Head Lease - There may be more than one leasehold interest on a property. The freehold is the ultimate interest followed by the head lease then one or more underleases.

Head leaseholder  - The owner of a superior lease to that held by ordinary leaseholders, but which is not the freehold. This is also known as the party that holds an intermediate interest in the property.

Household Insurance  - Buildings and contents insurance can often be purchased together protecting both the building structure and your belongings and possessions inside.

Land charge registry - A government department for England and Wales which keeps a register of certain charges on land the title of which is unregistered. The register is open to public search and is quite distinct from the land registry which deals with properties where title is registered.

Land charges search fee - Fee charged by a solicitor or conveyancer for checking the validity of the title on a property and whether the 'owner' is in a genuine position to sell.

Land Registry - This is a government department which registers all the details of any land transactions and issues to do with ownership of property in England and Wales. Transfer of ownership has to be registered with the Land Registry.

Land Registry certificate - This is a copy of the property entry in the Land Registry database concerning a property transaction or ownership.

Land Registry fees - A charge incurred when buying a home for registering the title of a property under your name. This is usually dealt with by your solicitor/conveyancer.

Landlord - Either the person who owns a property which you are renting and to whom you pay rent or the freeholder of a property for which there is a leasehold tenure.

Lease - The lease is a document that contains the rights and the covenants (rules) on behalf of both the landlord and the tenant which regulate the use of the property.

Leasehold - When you buy a leasehold property essentially you are buying nothing more than the right to occupy a building for a given length of time. You will usually have to pay ground rent and maintenance in addition to a one-off payment that buys ownership of the lease until sold or it runs out. The amount of alterations you can make to the property varies accordance with the lease and you may well have other conditions imposed upon you by the landlord.

Lessee - The person to whom a lease is granted.

Lessor - The person who grants a lease.

Missives - This is the contract agreed between a purchaser and seller in respect of property.

Mortgagee - The lender of a mortgage.

Mortgagor - The mortgagor is another term for the borrower.

NHBC - A governing body for new homes who will issue a 10 year structural guarantee. Their inspectors will ensure that your new home is built properly and is safe.

Notice - An official request to vacate a property. A freeholder or landlord may serve you notice on your home for a variety of reasons including failure to pay rent, breach of lease and in the case of rented property simply because they want to sell the property. A notice is served on the freeholder to inform them of a change of leaseholder and/or lender.

On risk - This is when your insurance cover begins. This may be before you have paid a premium.

Peppercorn Rent - A nominal rent intended to demonstrate that a property is leasehold and not freehold. It may be as little as one peppercorn per year.

Property address - The property address as used on our system is a general description of the ground and not the address of a specific unit. In the case of most flats and some houses it is a shared property for a number of units in the development. For example flats 1 to 12 Tudor Court could share the same property address. It is not a postal address although it does have some postal elements. If you find a problem with the address details, please notify us and we will endeavour to correct the description.

Property chain - Occurs when a seller needs the sale of their house to occur before they can complete the purchase of another property. This can be the situation for many people in the chain all relying on the sale of their current home. The whole chain can collapse if one buyer is unable to sell their home and a link breaks causing a knock on effect.

Rack Rent - Means the full or maximum rent obtainable for a heritable property.

Rebuilding cost - This is the recommended amount (from your property valuation) that you should take out buildings insurance cover for. This may be higher or lower than the market value of your property.

Recission - When the sale of a property is cancelled or revoked.

Registry searches - This involves obtaining the title deed for the property along with the Land Registry certificate. Careful scrutiny by your solicitor will hopefully confirm that the seller actually owns the property, has good title (i.e. is free to sell it) and that the sale includes any covenants associated with a property or its land.

Rent - The money paid by a tenant to a landlord for the right to occupy a property.

Rentcharge - A charge placed on a freehold property, sometimes known as a Chief Rent. The amount payable frequency and any other conditions or restrictions on use of the property are set out in the conveyance which created the rentcharge.

Retail Price Index - An index of the average level of prices in the UK.

Right of way - The legal term for the right to use someone else's property such as a shared driveway or a footpath.

Searches - Checks carried out during the conveyancing. These checks are made with local authorities and other official organisations to check planning proposals and other matters that may affect the value of the property, and if it can be sold in the future. The HM Land Registry is also searched to establish that there are no unknown charges registered against the property.
Service charge - This pays for maintenance and insurance of communal areas and is usually only applicable to flats.

Solicitor - Legal professional who is instructed to act on behalf of the buyer in the purchase of a home. They check the legal position of the house carry out a local authority search land registry searches and oversee the smooth exchange of contracts between concerned parties.

Solicitor's fee - Your solicitor will usually charge you a basic fee to cover taking your instructions advising you throughout the course of the sale acting and investigating on your behalf explaining the contract for purchase and completing the matter on your behalf. Though this is rarely charged as a percentage of the property value it can be stepped so that buyers of more expensive properties pay higher fee.
Solicitor's Letter Fee - This is charged when your account falls in arrear and the lenders instruct solicitors to act on their behalf.
Tacit Relocation  - The legal principle that, where no notice is given to terminate a Lease, the Lease is renewed for a further year on the same terms and conditions (if originally for a year or more); and for the period of the Lease if originally for less than a year.
Tenant - A person who has a legal right to occupy a property they do not own by signing a contract with the landlord to whom rent is paid.
Tenure - Whether a property is freehold or leasehold.
Terraced - A house attached to another on both sides.
Title - The right to ownership of a property.
Title deeds - These are the legal documents which prove the ownership of the property and set out details of anything affecting the property such as rights of way and boundaries.
Title searches - Undertaken by a solicitor or conveyancer to ensure that there are no unusual circumstances governing the ownership or use of a property.
Transfer deed - A document that, once you sign it, actually transfers the ownership of the property to you.
Underlease - There may be more than one leasehold interest on a property. The freehold is the ultimate interest followed by the head lease then one or more underleases.
Unpaid ground rent charge - If you are a leaseholder and the freeholder notifies the lender that you have not paid your ground rent or service charge the lender may penalise you.
Vacant possession - The previous occupants must vacate the property before you move in this includes any tenants.
Valuation - This is the estimated price that your property is worth.
Vendor - The person who is selling the property.