Absolute Title
Absolute ownership of property. This is the best title available.

Abstract of Title
A summary of all previous dealings in the property including sales, charges and easements, before the property was registered at the Land Registry.

Affordable Housing
Low cost housing for sale or rent, often from a housing association, to meet the needs of local people who cannot afford accommodation through the open or low cost market, or subsidised housing.

Alienation
Rights to dispose of a leasehold interest in land or property are described as alienation provisions. Usually a lease on a commercial building will permit assignment or subletting but dependant upon a raft of conditions being satisfied.

Ancillary Use
A subsidiary use connected to the main use of a building or piece of land.

Annual percentage rate - APR
The total cost of the loan including all fees etc. and is shown as a percentage rate per year. All lenders must quote an APR in addition to the actual rate of interest applied annually to your mortgage.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area designated by the Countryside Agency or the Countryside Council for Wales where the primary purpose is the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty including flora, fauna, geology and landscape.

Assignment
The transfer of a lease from one party to the other. Once a lease has been assigned, the assignee becomes responsible to the landlord for paying the rent and fulfilling the other obligations of the lease. However, in the event of default, the landlord may be able to require the assignor to pay the rent.

Assured Shorthold Tenancy
A form of assured tenancy which gives landlords an absolute right to repossession after a fixed term under the 'shorthold' ground. New residential tenancies now automatically become ASTs unless otherwise stated. Letting and management agents usually only offer this type of letting agreement to prospective tenants seeking property to rent.

Authorised guarantee agreement (AGA)
A common requirement on granting a lease. The tenant gives an AGA if it assigns the lease, guaranteeing the assignee’s performance of the lease obligations given to the landlord.

Back-land
Land which is behind existing development with no, or very limited, road frontage.

Bank of England base rate
Also known as the Bank of England's ‘repo’ rate & is announced from time to time by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. They set interest rates that Banks and Building Societies use to set their Standard Variable Rate for mortgages.

Betterment
The amount by which the value of land is increased by development or by the grant of planning permission, or because of the development of neighbouring land into new properties.

Break clause
A clause in a lease giving either or both parties the right to terminate a lease in specified circumstances.

Brownfield land
Previously developed land.

Building Preservation Order
A notice under Section 3 of the Planning ( Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to protect buildings of special architectural or historic interest from demolition or alterations that would affect their interest.

Buildings survey
Also known as a Structural Survey, this is a full inspection of the property which you wish to buy and will give you comprehensive details of the condition of the property including any structural repairs required, defects or work that is required in the near future. It is conducted by a chartered surveyor and this type of survey is important if you are considering buying an older house or one that has been extensively altered or undergone renovation work.

Business rates
The way in which businesses and other occupiers of non-domestic property contribute towards the cost of local authority services. The VOA is responsible for assessing the rateable value of all non-domestic and business property in England and Wales. In broad terms, the rateable value is a professional view of the annual rent for a property if it was available on the open market on a set date.

Local councils use the rateable value, in conjunction with a factor called the multiplier, to calculate the basic business rates liability for each property, before applying any discounts or reliefs. Local councils are responsible for sending out the bills and collecting the rates payable. Rateable values are reassessed, or revalued, every five years, bringing them into line with current market values. For the 2010 revaluation, the valuation date is 1 April 2008

Capital value
The value of an asset, freehold or leasehold, as distinct from its annual or rental value.

Capital Appreciation
Growth or gain in the value of a property or asset over time. Added to income. This contributes to the overall or total return on a buy to let property or financial investment.

Capital Gains Tax
A tax on profits above a fixed level made from the sale of financial assets such as a house, flat or shares.

Change of Use
More correctly referred to as a 'material change of use'. A change in the use of land or buildings that is of significance for planning purposes, often requiring planning permission.

Charge
A mortgage deed which lenders (building societies, banks etc) require borrowers to sign. It is registered against the property until the loan is repaid and the charge is removed.

Charge Certificate
This used to be an official document issued by the Land Registry to the owner of a registered charge as proof of ownership. However, these are no longer issued as the title is now electronic.

Completion
The point where the contracts have been exchanged and the legal ownership of the property is transferred to the buyer on the receipt of the monies required to purchase the vendors property. This is the date when the keys will be handed over.

Completion statement
A statement prepared by the buyer or his solicitor detailing exactly how much the buyer should pay, including the sale price, deposit, and other costs.

Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs)
Notice issued by the government or a local authority to acquire land or property for public interest purposes.

Conditions of sale
These are details drawn up by the conveyance solicitor, which establish the rights and duties of the buyer and the vendor. These may be national, statutory, or reside under the Law Society's conditions.

Conservation Area
An area given statutory protection under the Planning Acts, in order to preserve and enhance its character and townscape.

Conservation Area Consent
Consent required from the local planning authority before demolishing an unlisted property in a conservation area.

Contract
The legal and binding agreement containing all the essential details of the sale. The contract commits both buyer and vendor to the transaction and sale of the property.

Conveyancer
A solicitor or a licensed conveyancer who is a specialist dealing with all legal aspects of buying and selling a property.

Conveyancing
The term used for all the legal work involved in the transfer from one person to another of the legal ownership of property or land. It deals with obtaining the title deeds from the vendor, negotiating and agreeing the contract for buying your home as well as the Mortgage Deed, which legally charges the property as security for the loan.

Covenant
The word is used in two senses: First, in the strict legal sense, it refers to a clause in the lease requiring the tenant (or landlord) to do something or to refrain from doing something. Second, it is used in the wider sense to denote the worth of a tenant and hence the risk of default, which will have a bearing on the value of the lease.

Deeds
Also known as Title Deeds. They are the legal title documents that prove ownership of a property. They are transferred to the new owner on the sale of a property. Due to “title deeds” now being electronic, these are no longer held by the mortgage lender and are usually passed to the client for safe keeping.

Demised premises
Premises which are the subject of a lease.

Deposit
The sum of money (usually 5-10%) that is paid to the vendor on exchange of contracts on a property.

Development Area
A priority area for environmental, social or economic regeneration or a combination of these.

Development Control
The process whereby a local planning authority decides whether a planning application meets the requirements of planning policy, particularly as set out in development plans.

Dilapidations
This term principally covers proceedings whereby a landlord, by service of a ‘schedule of dilapidations’ seeks either to enforce a tenant’s repairing obligations under a lease of business premises, or claims compensation for lack of repair by the tenant at the end of the lease term.

Disbursements
The fees paid by the solicitor on the buyer's behalf, such as stamp duty, land registry and search fees, also known as Legal Fees.

Draft contract
The preliminary, unconfirmed version of the contract that is drawn up when the sale is first agreed. It will set out the conditions of sale and will need to be confirmed by the vendor's solicitor. early redemption fee If you wish to pay off your mortgage in the early years you will be charged to cover administration costs and cover any losses incurred by your lender. The redemption period varies depending on the terms of your mortgage.

Draft Transfer
A legal document issued by the vendor's solicitor to the purchaser's solicitor setting out the terms and conditions of sale.

Easement
A right given to the owner of one property over an adjoining property, such as a right of way. This should be carefully considered by your solicitor during the purchase of a property.

Engrossment
When the draft deeds to a property are approved they are engrossed for the vendor and purchaser to sign.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
Under the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1988, proposers of certain scheduled developments are required to submit a planning application with an accompanying environmental statement, evaluating the likely environmental impacts of the development, together with an assessment of how the severity of the impacts could be reduced.

Equivalent yield
The yield worked out on a discounted cash flow basis, taking into account initial and reversionary yields.

Established use
A use which does not conform to a plan but against which enforcement proceedings cannot be taken, often because of the length of time a use has been in operation.

Established Use Certificate
These were issued by a planning authority before July 1992 where it could be shown that a use of land or buildings had existed since before 1964. It gave immunity from enforcement action. Since July 1992 these have been replaced by Lawful Development Certificates.

Freeholder
One holding an estate in "fee simple absolute in possession".

FRI lease
A full repairing and insuring lease where the costs of all repairs and insurance are borne by the tenant.

GIA (gross internal area)
The GIA refers to the total area within the perimeter walls of a property and makes no allowance for the space occupied by staircases, walls, WCs etc. This measurement is the standard measurement given for industrial property.

Green Belt
Specially designated area of countryside protected from most forms of development in order to stop urban sprawl and the coalescence of settlements, preserve the character of existing settlements and encourage development to locate within existing built-up areas.

Green-field Site
An area not previously used for built development.

Ground lease
A lease of the land only. Usually the land is leased for a relatively long period of time to a tenant that constructs a building on the property. A land lease separates ownership of the land from ownership of buildings and improvements constructed on the land.

Ground Rent
Rent paid to the owner of freehold land by a person who has a Lease.

Guarantor
Someone who guarantees an obligation of another.

Headline rent
The rent apparently being paid, which may not take account of concessions such as rent-free periods.

Hereditament
A unit of rateable occupation for rateable value purposes.

Indexation
The regular adjustment of a rent in accordance with a specified index, eg the Retail Price Index.

Initial yield – gross
The immediate investment yield received by a property purchaser - i.e. rent as a percentage of purchase price, without allowing for any purchase costs incurred such as legal, agents and valuation fees, bank fees and Stamp Duty.

Initial yield – net
The yield available to the purchaser after taking into account purchasers costs detailed above.

Internal repairing (IR) lease
Under this type of lease the landlord retains responsibility for structural and external repairs without reimbursement. The tenant's only responsibility is for repairing the inside of the let premises and contributing towards the maintenance of any common parts via a traditional service charge.

Investment yield
Annual rent passing as a percentage of the capital value.

Land Certificate
This used to be an official document issued by Land document to the owner of registered land as proof of ownership. These are no longer issued as the titles are now electronic.

Land registry
The official body responsible for recording the ownership of land. land registry fee Fees paid by a solicitor on the buyer's behalf to register ownership of property with the Land Registry. This ensures that once you have purchased the property you are the legal owner of the land (if freehold). leasehold This means you own a property for a set number of years. When the lease expires, the property returns to the freeholder. Flats are commonly sold as leasehold or your house may be built on leasehold land.

Land Search
A formal application for an inspection of the Land Registry register. A certificate is issued showing the current situation of the land in question.

Lease
A contractually binding agreement that grants a right to exclusive possession or use of property, usually in return for a periodic payment called rent.

Legal fees
Fees that will be charged by your solicitor or conveyancer in relation to the purchase or sale of your property. They will include professional fees as well as any search and mortgage fees.

Listed Building
Building or other structure of special architectural or historic interest.

Listed Building Consent
Permission required for the alteration or demolition of a listed building.

Local Search
A questionnaire sent to a local Authority by a purchaser's solicitor to verify whether a property is affected by planning proposals, tree preservation orders, etc.

Managed office space
A hybrid of serviced office space and conventional office space, fully managed by outside companies. It offers highly equipped office space on flexible terms.

Mezzanine floor
Is an intermediate floor that can be installed post construction, height permitting, to provide additional storage /office space.

National House Building Council - NHBC
On newly built houses you can obtain this guarantee from the NHBC via the house builder. It guarantees the house against any defects which may occur in a given time period. This varies from builder to builder.

NIA (net internal area)
The NIA is defined as the usable space within the perimeter walls of a property. It excludes areas such as the WCs, space occupied by solid dividing walls, staircases etc. NIA is the standard figured quoted for office space.

Office Copies Entries
A Land Registry term for copies of registers and plans, they are officially marked 'office copy' and are legally recognised.

Open market value
An opinion of the best price at which the sale of an interest in the property would complete unconditionally for cash consideration on the date of valuation.

Peppercorn rent
A nominal rent that is charged on leasehold properties. It should be noted in the conditions of sale but it is rarely collected.

Planning Obligations and Agreements
Legal agreements between a planning authority and a developer, or offered unilaterally by a developer, ensuring that certain extra works related to a development are undertaken, usually under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Pre-Contract Enquiries
Enquiries made by the purchaser's solicitor to the vendor's solicitor requiring information relating to the property being purchased prior to exchange of contracts.

Private Treaty
Formal name given to the method by which most estate agents will undertake the sale of residential property. This term covers the whole range of services normally associated with the sale process, culminating in 'exchange of contracts' and 'completion' between vendor and purchaser.

Probate
Legal term applied to the process of proving that a will is valid.

Public Open Space (POS)
Land provided in urban or rural areas for public recreation, though not necessarily publicly owned.

Public Right of Way
A way where the public has a right to walk, and in some cases ride horses, bicycles, motorcycles or drive motor vehicles, which will be designated either as a footpath, a bridleway, a road used as a public path (RUPP) or a byway.

Purchaser’s costs
These costs include Stamp Duty Land Tax, legal and agency fees, and survey charges. They are traditionally calculated at 5.8% of the purchase price, on the assumption that the property has a value in excess of £500,000.

Rack rent
The best market rent obtainable

Real estate investment trust (REIT)
An investment vehicle in which investors purchase certificates of ownership in the trust, which in turn invests the money in real property and then distributes any profits to the investors. The trust is not subject to corporate income tax as long as it complies with the tax requirements for a REIT. Shareholders must include their share of REITs income in their personal tax returns.

Rent review
Leases generally contain clauses providing for a periodical review of the rent, say at five yearly intervals. The lease will generally specify the basis of review, which may be to Market Value or by reference to an artificial means like the Retail Price Index (RPI).

Rent review (market value vs indexed-linked)
Reviews to 'market value' are the most common form of rent review for commercial leases. Indexed-linked reviews are where the rent review is linked to an index, typically the Retail Price Index (RPI). Indexed-linked reviews are often used a substitute for market value in an attempt to keep the rent in line with market value, although such indices (i.e. RPI) bare no relation to property values. Indexes are mainly used for properties where there is little or no comparable evidence and can often lead to a reviewed rent being either grossly inflated or undervalued if adopted over a lengthy period of time.

Restrictive covenant
A covenant in a lease restricting the tenant in some respect, eg a covenant in a shop lease providing that only a particular type of trade may be carried out at the premises.

Reverse premium
On assignment, the payment of a sum of money by the assignor to the assignee e.g. a sum of money to reflect the unfavourable lease terms, eg where there is over-renting.

Reversionary yield
The yield the purchaser should be likely to receive on the purchase price following a rent increase or a rent review to an already agreed or assumed market rent.

Rural Development Area
Priority area for economic and social development.

Service charge
The amount a tenant pays for services his landlord provides e.g. when the building is let to multiple tenants it will cover common parts and the exterior.

Sole Agent
When a single agent is instructed to undertake a sale or let.

Searches
Procedure undertaken by a solicitor or legal representative during the conveyancing process to establish whether any issues exist which may adversely affect the property which is to be purchased.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
Tax payable to the Government, which is calculated on the purchase price of a property.

Subject to contract
This is when an offer for a property has been accepted and it is sold subject to contract, i.e. contracts have not been exchanged and there is not yet a legally binding obligation to buy or sell the property.

Subletting
Where the tenant lets part or all of the premises to a subtenant, as permitted by the terms of the lease. It differs from assignment in that the head lessee remains responsible to the landlord for the payment of rent and fulfillment of other obligations.

Terrace Property
One of a row of houses separated only by shared dividing side walls.

Termination
The coming or bringing to an end of a lease, by mutual agreement, by the effluxion of time, or by the exercise of a right of one of the parties.

Title
The ultimate record of ownership of a property, the evidence of which is found in the title deeds.

Tree Preservation Order (TPO)
Direction made by a local planning authority that makes it an offence to cut, top, lop, uproot or willfully damage or destroy a tree without that authority's permission.

Unregistered land
Where ownership of land is established by a bundle of deeds but is not registered on the registered land system with the Land Registry.

Use classes
The Town & Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 puts uses of land and buildings into various categories. A use class is a grouping together of similar land uses.

Vacant Possession
A well used estate agency phrase which means that the property being offered will be vacant upon completion of the sale. The property is therefore offered free from any such encumbrances such as a sitting tenant or service tenancy.

Valuation
An independent assessment of the value of the property by an approved surveyor.

Vendor
The person who is selling their property.