Accelerated possession procedure (APP)
A cheap and straightforward way for landlords to gain possession of their property without a court hearing. Unless it considers a hearing is necessary, the court makes its decision based solely on documents provided by the landlord and tenant. This procedure can only be used where there is a written tenancy agreement and the tenant has been given notice. The procedure cannot be used to claim for arrears of rent. Also see ‘Court service’.

Accreditation
See ‘Landlord accreditation’ .

Annual percentage rate (APR)
A standard measure of the cost of borrowing including interest charges and other fees which must be shown on all UK loan advertisements.

Arrangement fee
Fee charged by some lenders and intermediaries for access to particular mortgage deals, often fixed rate or discounted rate mortgages. May be payable in advance or added to loan.

Association of Home Information Pack providers (HIPP)
Association for those involved in the production of Home Information Packs.

Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
Professional association for letting agents which operates code of practice and bond scheme that protect the clients of ARLA members.

Assured tenancy
A form of tenancy introduced under the 1988 Housing Act for property let out as a separate dwelling and used as the tenant's only or main home. An assured tenancy will generally allow the tenant to stay in occupation until either he or she decides to leave of the landlord obtains a possession order.

Assured shorthold tenancy (AST)
A form of tenancy that assures the landlord right to repossess the property at the end of the term specified in the tenancy agreement, which can be for any length of time. To gain possession the landlord must service a notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 giving a minimum of two months’ notice.

Landlords may also apply for possession during the course of a tenancy on various ‘grounds for possession’ . Some give the court no option but to grant possession.

Any new tenancy started after 28 February 1997 is automatically an assured shorthold tenancy unless otherwise specified.

Bank base rate
See ‘Repo rate’.

Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee
UK base interest rates are currently set by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), although in extreme circumstances the Government has the power to give instructions to the Bank on interest rates for a limited period.

The MPC comprises the Governor of the Bank, the two deputy governors, the Bank's chief economist, the executive director for market operations and four external members appointed directly by the Chancellor. It meets monthly.

The rate set is the ‘Repo’ rate – the base rate which sets a benchmark for other interest rates, including personal loan and mortgage interest rates.

Buy to let
Purchase of a residential property for letting.

Capped rate mortgages
Mortgages in which the rate of interest is variable but guaranteed not to exceed a specified level for a set period.

Commonhold
Form of tenure created by Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 in which leaseholders in a property jointly hold the freehold through an association.

Completion
Final stage in process of transferring the legal title of property from a seller to a buyer and the point at which any mortgage commences.

Conveyancing
Legal process of buying and selling a property.

CORGI
The Confederation for the Registration of Gas Installers maintains the register of competent gas installers, inclusion on which is a legal requirement for businesses and self-employed people working on gas fittings or appliances. CORGI also investigates gas safety related complaints from the public.

It is a requirement under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 for use landlords to have gas appliances and flues checked annually by a Corgi registered engineer.

County court judgement (CCJ)
A judgement for debt recorded at a County Court which will show up when a credit check is undertaken.

Court Service
Publicly available service that provides online access to various forms that landlords may require when commencing proceedings for possession. The website also has guidance on such subjects as dealing with squatters. Forms available to download include N5 for use in possession claims, and N5B for use in use of the accelerated possession procedure.

Credit reference agency
Companies that can provide credit information about individuals (including CCJs) and confirmation of addresses included on the electoral register.

Deposit protection scheme
See Tenancy deposit protection

Discounted rate mortgage
Mortgage in which the lender agrees a fixed discount off the normal variable rate for a guaranteed period of time. Likely to include penalties for early redemption.

Discretionary grounds for possession
Grounds that may be cited in possession proceedings which allow the court discretion as to whether or not to grant possession – there are also eight mandatory grounds for possession.

The discretionary grounds cover circumstances in which: the landlord has offered suitable alternative accommodation on the same basis; there are rent arrears but not of more than eight weeks (or two months if the rent is paid monthly, or one quarter if paid quarterly); there are persistent and continuing rent arrears; the tenant has breached the terms of the tenancy agreement; the tenant has neglected or damaged the property or has sub-let; the tenant is causing nuisance to neighbours; furniture supplied under the tenancy agreement has been damaged; the accommodation is linked to employment which has ended; and the tenant has knowingly or recklessly made false statements on which the landlord has relied in granting a tenancy.

Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs)
Assessor authorised to provide Energy Performance Certificates.

Easement
A right, such as a right of way, which the owner of one property has over an adjoining property.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
An assessment of household energy usage and the extent to which this can be lowered if the recommendations of the Domestic Energy Assessor preparing the certificate are adopted. Certificates give properties a rating from A to G presented graphically in much the same style as used for fridges, washing machines and other white goods. Dwellings offered for sale must have an EPC that is not more than 12 months old, and from October 2008 rental properties must have a certificate that is not more than 10 years old.

Exchange of contracts
Point within conveyancing process at which the agreement between a property buyer and seller for transfer of title becomes binding in law subject to penalties for non-completion.

Eviction
In most cases it is illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant without a court order. The Protection from Eviction Act 1977 also protects tenants against being forced to leave a property through harassment, such as threats or physical violence, or through withdrawal of services such as disconnecting the electrical supply or refusing to carry out vital repairs.

Also see ‘Grounds for possession’.

Fair rent
Rent determined by the Rent Service applicable to Regulated tenancies, set according to local market conditions but any increase capped, except where the landlord has made substantial improvements to the property, by a formula based on the rate of inflation.

Fixed interest rate mortgage
Mortgage in which the interest rate is fixed for a set period of time whether or not the base rate (repo rate) goes up or down. There are likely to be penalties included for early redemption.

Fly to let
Purchase of an overseas property with the intention of letting continually or for part of the year. Residential Landlord has a sister website devoted to fly to let investment fly2let.net.

Freehold
Indefinite ownership of a property as opposed to a leasehold tenure which is for a fixed period. The relatively recently introduced Commonhold tenure combines elements of the two.

Fixtures
Articles such as radiators and light fittings attached to the house itself and deemed to be part of it.

Flexible mortgages
Mortgages allowing for the possibility of part redemptions and repayment holidays without penalty.

Financial Services Authority (FSA)
The Financial Services Authority has statutory responsibility for regulating the financial services sector including the sale of private homebuyer mortgages but not business or buy to let mortgages.

Good repair
Landlords are required by law to keep their rented properties in good repair and fit for human habitation. Should local environmental health officers rule that a tenant’s health has been affected by the state of living conditions, he or she would be able to claim compensation from your landlord.

Grounds for possession
There are 17 grounds for possession laid down in the Housing Act 1988, as amended by the Housing Act 1996, that may be cited in possession proceedings against a tenant. Eight are Mandatory grounds for possession where the court is obliged to award possession provided the landlord has complied with the procedure set out in the Housing Acts and has served the tenant with the appropriate notices. Nine are Discretionary grounds for possession allowing the court some leeway. Landlords may also seek possession when it can be demonstrated that a tenant is no longer using the accommodation as his or her principal home.

Harassment
Harassment is a criminal offence under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. The term refers to acts by a landlord or agent likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of a tenant or involve the withdrawal or withholding of services reasonably required for occupation. Harassment can include the landlord continually visiting the property or contacting tenants.

HMO licensing
In England and Wales a requirement that larger houses in multiple occupation should be licensed by local authorities came into effect on 6 April 2006. After 3 July 2006 it is an offence to let properties caught by the mandatory licensing provisions of the Housing Act 2004 without a licence which could incur fines of up to £20,000.

Those rental properties that require a licence under the Act are HMOs of three or more storeys with five or more occupants who form two or more households - households being partners and relatives living together – using shared facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms.

Properties do not have to be entire houses but can be part of buildings let to five or more unrelated people even if the tenants have signed a joint tenancy agreement. Attics and basements are included in the storey count if they are used as living accommodation.

In addition to mandatory licensing, some local authorities will in due course be introducing additional licensing covering other HMO properties. Landlords should consult their local authority for local licensing requirements.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has issued an explanatory leaflet Landlords: Do you need a property license? which can be downloaded free, and has an area of its website dedicated to HMO licensing.

In Scotland HMOs are defined as houses used as the only or principal residence of three or more qualifying persons from three or more families. A ‘house’ includes any building, or any part of a building occupied as a separate dwelling. The legislation covers not only ordinary shared houses or flats and bedsits, but all residential accommodation, including hostels, student halls of residence, and staff accommodation in hotels or hospitals.

Separate units within a building which share use of a toilet, personal washing facilities or cooking facilities, are taken to form part of a single house.

Two people are members of the same family if they are partners (including same sex couples) or related, including relationships by marriage or by half blood, and children who are fostered, adopted or otherwise brought up as a member of the family.

Landlords need a licence if they give permission for a house to be occupied as an HMO. The application for a licence must be made by the owner, even if the property is leased to or managed by another person or organisation.

In Scotland it is a criminal offence to operate an HMO without a licence. The maximum penalty is currently £5,000.

The Scottish Executive has produced an HMO Guide for Landlords.

Home condition report
An objective report based on inspection of a property by a licensed home inspector. The report is designed to highlight those defects in the property that are either urgent or serious, in addition to providing a general summary of all other parts of the house. Home condition reports are an optional element of Home information packs.

Home information pack (HIP)
Packs that with a few exceptions (such as when a property is being sold for demolition) sellers of residential property are required to commission before marketing their property. Besides searches and title documents, HIPs must contain an Energy Performance Certificate.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
In England and Wales HMOs are defined under the Housing Act 2004 as:

• entire houses or flats let to three or more tenants from two or more households who share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet;

• houses converted entirely into bedsits or other accommodation that is not self contained, let to three or more tenants who form two or more households and who share kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities;

• converted houses containing one or more flats which are not wholly self contained, occupied by three or more tenants who form two or more households and who share facilities; and

• buildings which have been converted entirely into self contained flats but the conversion did not meet the standards of the 1991 Building Regulations and more than one third of the flats are let on short term tenancies.

In each case the property must be used as the tenants’ only or main residence and it should be used solely or mainly to house tenants. Properties let to students and migrant workers will be treated as such tenants’ only or main residence, and the same will apply to properties which are used as domestic refuges.

All of these properties could be subject to mandatory or additional licensing requirements, but not all are. It is only those that are of three or more storeys with five or more occupants that in fact require a licence.

In Scotland there is a separate definition and all must be licensed.

Housing benefit
Housing benefit is available to help people who are on state benefits or who have low incomes to pay their rent. It is paid by local councils in arrears and can be paid directly to a landlord. The amount is dependent upon personal circumstances of the tenant and the rent of the property. The system has been much criticised and is likely to be replaced with a new Local housing allowance which is being piloted in a number of areas.

Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS)
The new Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which applies to all residential property as from April 2006, requires structures, means of access, outbuildings, gardens, yard and other amenity spaces to provide a safe and healthy environments for the occupants and visitors. Dwellings should be free from unnecessary and avoidable hazards; and where hazards are necessary or unavoidable, they should be made as safe as reasonably possible.

As all dwellings, even new ones, contain some hazards, the system provides a ‘hazard rating’ for the severity of hazards associated with each property. Ratings are assessed under 29 different areas of risk. Within each area they are scored according to possible harms or adverse health consequences according to the perceived severity. There are four classes of harm of which ‘category one’ are the most severe. These are risks that could lead to death, permanent paralysis below the neck, regular severe pneumonia, or 80 per cent burns or worse.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has web pages devoted to HHSRS.

Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS)
All residents in homes managed by a provider of housing services registered with HOS (www.ihos.org.uk) can make a complaint to the Ombudsman. All social landlords (housing associations) registered in England are included, as are certain private landlords and management agents. There is a searchable membership data base.

The Housing Ombudsman Service has piloted a voluntary Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) for the private rented sector in England. The pilot has ended but the service continues to deal with tenancy deposit disputes affecting landlords in its jurisdiction.

The Housing Act 2004 has provisions for a mandatory national tenancy deposit scheme. The Ombudsman is considering proposals to provide a complementary dispute resolution mechanism. In the meantime, the Housing Ombudsman Service is not taking part, is not connected with, and does not endorse, any other initiative.

Complaints about housing provided by local authorities are not dealt with by the HOS but have to be made to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Interest only mortgage
Mortgage in which no capital repayments are made for a specified time or until redemption.

Landlord accreditation
A growing number of local authorities are introducing voluntary private landlord accreditation schemes, as are universities for student lets, and landlord associations. Generally landlords who belong agree to adhere to given standards in return for being able to say they are accredited.

Accreditation Network UK (ANUK) is a network of professionals and associations which promote accreditation.

Landlord’s Energy Saving Allowance
Tax allowance originally introduced in April 2004 and which now covers loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, draught proofing, hot water system insulation, and floor insulation.

Landlord licening
In England and Wales landlords must obtain licences from local authorities for HMO properties of three or more storeys with five or more occupants who form two or more households - households being partners and relatives living together – using shared facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms. The licensing process includes assessment of whether or not they are ‘fit and proper’ to be HMO landlords and apply adequate management standards.

In Scotland (as from 30 April 2006) all landlords must register with their local authorities under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004. Letting property without registering could result in a fine of up to £5,000 and to rental income being withheld.

To place landlords on their registers, local authorities will have to be satisfied that they are fit and proper to let property. Authorities can take into account any relevant information including: any relevant convictions, particularly in relation to fraud, violence or drugs; any evidence that the applicant has failed to take adequate steps to deal with antisocial behaviour in his or her properties; any evidence that the applicant has failed to comply with the law relating to housing or letting, including management, money and physical issues; and any evidence that the applicant has practised illegal discrimination in any business activity.

There is a central website through which landlords can register.

Land Registry
Official registry of property titles containing the world's largest property database, guaranteeing ownership of £1,300bn worth of property.

The Land Registration Act 2002 which came into effect in October 2003 gives owners of registered property greater protection against squatters and allows them to block applications for adverse possession with time allowed for recovery of possession.

Leasehold
Ownership of property for a fixed term granted by lease. The lease sets out details of rents and obligations such as repairs. Other possible tenures include Freehold and Commonhold.

Leasehold Valuation Tribunals (LVTs)
Rent Assessment Panels, which sit as LVTs, determine specified aspects of leasehold disputes under the Landlord and Tenant Acts of 1985 and 1987, as amended by the Housing Act 1996.

Local Government Ombudsmen
The Local Government Ombudsmen investigate complaints of injustice arising from maladministration by local authorities and certain other bodies. There are three Local Government Ombudsmen in England and they each deal with complaints from different parts of the country. They investigate complaints about most council matters including housing.

Local Housing allowance
A proposed replacement for housing benefit currently being piloted in a number of areas (Blackpool, Brighton and Hove, Conwy, Coventry, Edinburgh, Leeds, Lewisham, north east Lincolnshire, and Teignbridge). This will allow tenants fixed amounts to spend on housing dependent upon the local rental market, and permit them to keep any saving or to contribute an additional amount needed according to their choice of properties. Payment direct to landlords will be precluded.

Local search
Application to local authority for information about a particular property and its surrounding area which should reveal whether the property is affected by road building or outstanding matters such as sanitary notices.

LIBOR
The London Inter Bank Offered Rate is the rate at which banks lend money to each other. LIBOR changes daily and a LIBOR linked mortgage will normally be adjusted every three months.

Loan to value (LTV)
Size of mortgage as a percentage of the value of a property. Many lenders offer more favourable deals to customers who are seeking lower LTVs.

Mandatory grounds for possession
Grounds that may be cited in possession proceedings which, provided the correct procedures have been followed and notices given, require the court to grant possession. In brief the mandatory grounds cover situations where: the landlord requires the property for personal occupation; a mortgage lender is foreclosing the mortgage; property let for a fixed period is required for return to holiday letting; an educational institution requires return of a student let; a religious body requires return of its property for an alternative tenant; the landlord wishes to demolish, reconstruct or redevelop the property; a landlord wishes to claim possession against the resident heir of a tenant who has died; and the rent is in arrears by eight weeks or more (two months if it is paid monthly, or one quarter if paid quarterly).

Mortgage
Deed pledging freehold or leasehold property as security for a loan (also called legal a charge). If payments are not made according to the terms of the mortgage and fall into arrears the mortgagor will be able to foreclose, claim the property and sell it on to recover the outstanding amount.

National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS)
The National Approved Letting Scheme is a Government backed accreditation scheme which all letting and letting management agents can join. In doing so they agree to meet defined standards of customer service, to maintain necessary insurances to protect clients' money, and to have customer complaints procedures in place offering independent redress.

The scheme is supported by the Association of Residential Letting Agents, National Association of Estate Agents and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It currently has approaching 1,000 member offices throughout the UK.

National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)
The largest professional estate agency organisation in the UK. Representing nearly 10,000 members, the NAEA is committed to raising professional standards across all aspects of the property market for the benefit of member agents and ultimately the home moving public.

National Federation of Residential Landlords (NFRL)
NFRL is the umbrella landlord organisation bringing together some 40 private landlords’ association covering every main postcode area in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC)
An independent consumer safety organisation and has been the electrical contracting industry's voluntary regulatory body for electrical safety matters for more than 45 years.

National Landlords Association (NLA)
The National Association of Landlords is the largest UK association of private landlords, protecting and promoting their interests and providing membership benefits such as fact sheets, newsletters, insurance discounts, meetings and workshops, and favourable terms with selected suppliers of advice and services.

New building regulations
Effective from January 2005 requires most substantial electrical work to be carried ‘competent' person such as a contractor approved by the NICEIC.

NHBC
The standard setting body and leading warranty and insurance provider for new and newly converted homes in the UK. Providing risk management services to the house building and wider construction industry, NHBC has approximately 18,000 registered builders who agree to comply with its rules and standards. An NHBC certificate gives substantial protection against building faults for 10 years.

Non-resident landlords scheme
A scheme for taxing the UK rental income of non-resident landlords. The scheme requires UK letting agents to deduct basic rate tax from any rent they collect for non-resident landlords. If non-resident landlords don't have UK letting agents acting for them, and the rent is more than £100 a week, their tenants must deduct the tax. When working out the amount of tax the letting agent/tenant can take off deductible expenses.

Letting agents and/or tenants don't have to deduct tax if the Inland Revenue tells them not to. The Inland Revenue will tell an agent/tenant not to deduct tax if non-resident landlords have successfully applied for Approval to receive rents with no tax deduction. But even though the rent may be paid with no tax deducted, it remains liable to UK tax. So non-resident landlords must include it in any tax return to the Inland Revenue. Retails of the scheme
are available from the Inland Revenue website.

Non-status
Some lenders will offer non-status facilities which allow them to lend without proof of income and sometimes without proof of existing mortgage repayment record. The maximum loan to value on these schemes is normally 70 per cent or below and a credit search will usually be carried out

Notice to quit
A Notice to quit or more properly Notice requiring repossession issued under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 is notice to a tenant that he or she must vacate a property at the end of an assured shorthold tenancy agreement. There is no prescribed form for the notice but it must specify the date after which the tenant is to give up possession. At least two month’s notice is required and possession may not be required until expiry of the first six months of the tenancy.

Off plan
Binding commitment to purchase a property before it is built on the basis of the builder’s plans.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)
Government department, headed by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott which has responsibility, among other things for housing, dealing with homelessness, planning, building regulations, sustainable communities, urban policy, and local government.

The ODPM website has a section devoted to housing which, among other things, contains consultation papers, guidance for homeowners, tenants and landlords, and information on housing policy and statistics. The Government also has online information about letting property .

Periodic tenancy
A periodic tenancy comes into being when a landlord does nothing to reclaim possession at the end of an original assured shorthold tenancy and allows the tenants to remain without issuing a new tenancy agreement. The terms and conditions of the original assured shorthold tenancy agreement remain in place, as does the right of the landlord to bring the tenancy to an end by service of the required two month’s.

Possession
See Mandatory grounds for possession, ‘Assured shorthold tenancy’, ‘Discretionary grounds for possession’, ‘Grounds for possession’, and ‘Section 21’.

Quiet enjoyment
Allowing tenants ‘quiet enjoyment’ is an implied term within any letting agreement and affords tenants the right to uninterrupted use of the property during the course of their tenancy without interference from the landlord or the landlord’s agents.

Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure’ (RdSAP)
An industry agreed standard that allows Domestic Energy Assessors to calculate energy usage by reference to standard tables.

Registered rent
Rent included on the publicly available Rent Register as determined by the Rent Service or Rent Assessment Committee recording the maximum that can be charged until a new determination is agreed or the tenant leaves.

Regulated tenancy
Most continuing private tenancies entered into before 15 January 1989 are regulated tenancies under the Rent Act 1977. This means that the tenant has long term security of tenure and that both the landlord and the tenant have the right to have a Fair rent registered for the tenancy by an independent rent officer. Both also have a right to appeal to a rent assessment committee if they are dissatisfied with the rent officer's decision.

Once a rent is registered, the landlord cannot normally charge a higher rent without reapplying to the rent officer and a new application for registration is not possible for two years unless there is a relevant change of circumstances. The Housing Act 1988, which introduced assured and assured shorthold tenancies at market rents for most new lettings on or after 15 January 1989, did not change existing tenants' rights to security of tenure and rent control.

Rent Assessment Committees (RACs)
When a landlord or tenant of a Regulated tenancy has objected to the rent assessed by the Rent Service, the case will be passed to a Rent Assessment Committee to decide the Fair rent.

Tenants with assured tenancies may also apply to the RAC for a determination of the open market rent they should be paying. They may also apply if the landlord serves notice of a proposed rent increase.

Tenants with assured shorthold tenancies may also apply within the first six months of their tenancy.

Rent assessment committees are made up of two or three people – a solicitor, a property valuer and a lay person, all of whom are drawn from panels of people with appropriate expertise. There are 14 rent assessment panels in England and Wales appointed by the Government. The rents they set will be the legal maximum that can be charged for one year from the date of the decisions, after which an application for an increase can be made.

Relevant forms are available from the Rent Service website.

Rent assessment panels
See ‘Residential Property Tribunal Service’.

Rent officer
A local authority official responsible for housing benefit. He or she will usually rely on the local Rent Service to assess whether the rent being asked is reasonable or not, or whether the property is too large for the needs of the claimant.

Rent Service
This is an executive agency of the Department for Work and Pensions which carries out rental valuations for housing benefit purposes, makes fair rent determinations; advises local authorities about the effects on rent of housing renovation grant applications by landlords; and carries out rental valuations and provides information, on a more informal basis, for a variety of customers within the public and private sector.

Rental yields
Precise definitions can vary but the gross rental yield is usually taken to be the annual rent of a property as a percentage of its capital value or acquisition price. The net rental yield is the annual rent after deducting expenses as a percentage of capital value or acquisition price. The rental return or capital return is the annual income from renting less the costs plus annual capital appreciation as a percentage of the original investment in the property.

Repayment mortgage
A mortgage in which the borrower pays a set amount each month comprising an element of both interest and capital repayment and calculated to fully pay off the mortgage by its expiry date.

Repo rate
The rate set each month by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee as the as the benchmark for other interest rates, including personal loans and mortgages.

Residential Property Tribunal Service (RPTS)
The Residential Property Tribunal Service is an independent body which aims to provide a fair and accessible tribunal service to help landlords and tenants and leaseholders settle disputes about rents and about leasehold property.

The RPTS, whose remit covers England, comprises five regional Rent Assessment Panels, each covering a different geographical part of the country - London; Southern England; Northern England; the Midlands; and Eastern England.

Rent Assessment Panels do not have the power to deal with all types of dispute about rents and leasehold matters.

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
The professional body for chartered surveyors who cover covers all aspects of real estate, property, construction and associated environmental issues. RICS has 110,000 members globally and represents, regulates and promotes the work of property professionals throughout 120 countries.

Schedule A
Letting income is taxed under schedule A. Although expenses may be set against income there are special rules that apply which vary from those which apply to most other types of business income, which is taxed according to ‘Schedule D’. The Inland Revenue has an explanatory leaflet, IR150, which can be downloaded.

Section 21 notice
See ‘Notice to quit’

Stamp Duty
Government tax on transfer of property in excess of £60,000. Duty is levied according to the value of the price of property being transferred and is currently nil for properties sold for up to £60,000, 1 per cent of the full price for properties priced between £60,001 and £250,000, 3 per cent for those priced between £250,001 and £500,000, and 4 per cent for those priced above £500,000.

Stamp duty of 1 per cent is also payable on leases and rental agreements of seven years or less where the annual rental is £5,000 or more. Other rates and conditions apply for longer leases and to premiums in excess of 60,000.

Standard variable rate (SVR)
Rate of interest normally charged on variable rate mortgages which will go up and down from time to time during the course of the mortgage according to general interest rate movements.

Tenancy deposit protection
As from 6 April 2007 any landlord taking a monetary deposit must safeguard it by participating through membership in a tenancy deposit scheme. There are two types of scheme available – a custodial scheme which holds the deposit, or insured schemes whereby the landlord retains the deposit but pays an insurance premium. Both approaches include dispute resolution arrangements.

Until deposits have been safeguarded by a scheme, landlords are unable to regain possession of the property using usual 'notice only grounds'.

See Tenant Guarantee Scheme for an alternative to tenancy deposits.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)
The Housing Act 2004 has provisions for mandatory tenancy deposit protection. As from 6 April 2007 landlords who take deposits have been required to comply by participation in a custodial or insured tenancy deposit scheme.

See Tenant Guarantee Scheme for an alternative to tenancy deposits.

Tenant Guarantee Scheme
An alternative to deposits in which tenants insure themselves for the benefit of their landlords. See official website for more information.

Title deeds
Deeds and documents proving ownership of freehold or leasehold property (generally the charge or land certificate).

Tracker mortgage
Variable rate mortgage in which the interest rate is linked to an external market rate, such as the Bank of England base rate rather than a rate set by the lender.

Void periods
Time, usually measured in days, when properties offered for rent remain without tenants.

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