Property Glossary M - Z

Maisonette - a property arranged over more than one floor, usually as part of an existing house.

Managing / Management Agent - a third party business that manages the letting of properties, in exchange for a fee, on behalf of a landlord or property owner. see www.2manageproperty.net

Mezzanine - a small additional floor between one floor of a building and the next floor up.

Mortgage Deeds - a legal document detailing a lender's interest in a property along with the terms of the mortgage.

Mortgage - an agreement which allows you to borrow money from a bank or lender in order to buy a property.

Mortgagee - a bank, or similar organisation, which provides mortgages to people especially so that they can buy a property.

NAEA - National Association of Estate agents

Negative Equity - when the value of a property is less than the value of the mortgage outstanding on a property.

New-Build - a house or flat that has been built from scratch by a building company or developer to be sold on.

NHBC - National House-Builders Council

Off-Plan - the purchase of a property before the building work itself has started, or has been completed.

Ombudsman - independent professional bodies that deal with complaints by consumers made about particular organisations, such as estate agents. (Ombudsman of Estate agents)

Open Day - when a property is opened up to prospective buyers to view over a set period of time to increase the competitiveness of a property sale.

Penthouse - a luxurious apartment, or set of rooms, at the top of a hotel or tall block.

PCM - Rental figure “pcm” – per calendar month.

Property Search Agent - a company that will find and arrange viewings for particular properties to buy or rent matching your search criteria on your behalf.

Rebuilding Cost - the cost of fully rebuilding a property, usually requested as part of a buildings insurance policy.

Redemption - when a mortgage is paid off in full.

Repayment Mortgage - a mortgage where monthly repayments include both the capital and interest components, meaning at the end of the term, the mortgage will be paid off in full.

References - Checking a tenant applicant’s suitability to be able to pay the rent and also the applicant’s track record in earlier rentals. This often involves contacting previous landlords, the present employer or accountant if self employed and bank (banks normally charge for providing references) See also Credit search references.

Release Clause - see break clause

Repossession - when a mortgage company takes possession of a property, primarily due to non-payment of a mortgage.

Rent - a fixed amount of money that you pay regularly to the owner of a property for the uninterrupted use and enjoyment of it for an agreed period of time

Rent Guarantee and Legal Expenses Insurance - an insurance that guarantees to pay the landlord the rent if the tenants should cease paying, plus insurance for the cost of legal fees to recover the property and/or any outstanding rent/costs etc

Retention - the process of withholding money from a seller until certain improvements or corrections to the property have been completed to satisfaction.

Sealed Bid - where interested parties send a letter detailing the amount they are willing to pay for a property (to buy or rent) - the highest bidder usually secures the property.

Searches - a request for any information concerning a particular property, usually held by a local authority or the Land Registry.

Semi-Detached - a property that is joined to another house on one side.

Services - See utilities

Service Charge - a charge to cover the cost of repairing and maintaining external or internal communal parts of a building, usually paid by the tenant or leaseholder.

Serviced Apartments - self-contained apartments designed to provide general amenities for short stays.

Solicitor - legal expert who handles all of the documents relating to the purchase or sale of a property.
solicitors & surveyors

Stamp Duty - a tax property buyers pay to the government, the value of which depends on the value of the property being bought (ranging between 1% and 4% of the purchase price).

Structural Survey - a detailed assessment of a property's structure, designed to highlight faults or defects that might impact upon it's value of the property.

Studio Flat - a flat with one main room, or open-plan living area, that usually incorporates cooking facilities with a separate bathroom.

Subject to Contract - a term meaning that an agreement for buying a property has been reached, but will not be legally binding until after the exchange of contracts.

Standing Order - Standing order mandate is an instruction that the tenant makes to his/her bank for payment of rent. It can either be set up on a form or on line (by the tenant). Normally payments are made each month and the instruction will state the number of payments or will continue to be paid until cancelled by the tenant. A landlord or agent cannot cancel a standing order mandate, only the person whose bank account the fund are coming from. A standing order should not be confused with a Direct Debit. This is not often used for the payment of rent and is more common for payments that differ each month and the company notifies the bank’s customer in advance you are paying money to of the amounts and dates. e.g. annual AA subscription 25th July, electricity company £so much for next 10 months commencing 15th August etc.

Studio Apartment / Flat - Flat with bedroom/living room all in one either with a separate kitchen or corner of the main room as a kitchen with separate bathroom and toilet.

Superior Landlord - People or person to whom the ownership of a property might revert to at a later stage. e.g. an apartment with a 99 year lease. See also Superior Lease.

Superior Lease or Headlease - This is the lease that the landlord holds. This is often the case in an apartment/flat where the owner has the leasehold interest, but another individual owns the freehold. There is then this lease under which the landlord is responsible for the obligations / covenants. When a property is let out the tenant renting a property then also has to comply with any of these obligations – e.g. not to hang out washing on a balcony etc.

Standard Variable Rate (SVR) - the basic interest rate offered by a mortgage lender that may increase or decrease at the lender's discretion.

Tenants Contents Insurance - insurance to cover the damage or loss of items and belongings within a property.

Tenant Referencing - a process whereby a landlord investigates the financial history and current situation of a prospective tenant.

Tenant – a person, persons (company or organisation) who is entitled to temporarily occupy a property under the terms and conditions of a tenancy agreement.

Tenancy Agreement - This is a legal binding document containing details about the rental terms. Sometimes known as a rental agreement. It will state the parties – landlord – tenants the rental price and the property address along with the “Covenants” / obligations (promises) of the let. It should be written in plain clear language. Usually an Assured Shorthold Tenancy
Term of Tenancy - Length of tenancy - most initial tenancy agreements are for a minimum of six months, they can be shorter and longer.

Tenure - refers to the status of a property, usually in terms of whether it is leasehold or freehold.

Title Deeds - documents displaying the legal owner of a property.

Tracker Mortgage - a mortgage that tracks movement in a specific index – either the building society's standard variable rate, LIBOR (the London Inter Bank Overnight Rate – rate at which the bank's lend to each other) or the Bank of England Base rate. It is usually best to have one which tracks the Base Rate because if it goes down the building socity HAS to reduce your rate.

Transfer Deed - a document from the Land Registry highlighting the transfers in legal ownership of a property from a seller to a buyer.

Utilities Or Services - These are normally electricity, gas and water. Under most circumstances the tenant is responsible for paying for these.

Under Offer - a term indicating the status of a property after an offer from a buyer has been accepted, but before contracts have been exchanged.

Valuation - the process of understanding a property's value, usually conducted by either a surveyor or an estate agent.

Vendor - the technical name for someone selling a property.

Void Period - the period in which a property lies empty in between periods of tenant occupation.
back to top
Water Charges - see utilities

Yield - income generated from a property relative to the value of the property.
The above has been compiled to assist people with property terminology. We advise that this information is for guidance only and cannot be relied on for accuracy and that you should consult a qualified legal representative if you require full explanation.