Reference · UK property glossary

Every term, in plain English.

Plain-English definitions of UK property terms — tenure, conveyancing, lending, survey, valuation and rental vocabulary.

34 TERMS
UPDATED 2026

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)

The default private-rental contract in England and Wales — gives tenants a fixed...

Building Survey (RICS Level 3)

The deepest standard RICS survey — for older homes, major alterations, or...

A line of dependent property transactions — each buyer is also a seller, all...

The day the money moves, the keys change hands, and the home is legally yours.

Conservation Area

A neighbourhood-scale designation that adds planning controls on how buildings...

The legal paperwork, searches and money-handling that takes you from accepted...

A box-shaped extension out the back of the roof, with vertical walls and a...

A bathroom or shower room attached to (and only accessible from) a bedroom —...

EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)

The A–G energy grade every UK home needs when it's sold or let — a combined...

Exchange of Contracts

The moment the sale becomes legally binding — no walking away without paying...

You own the property and the ground under it, indefinitely. No landlord, no...

Garage Conversion

Converting an attached garage into habitable floor area — usually a ground-floor...

Accepting a higher offer from someone else after your offer was already...

A buyer drops their price at the eleventh hour, when the seller feels too...

A fee historically paid by a leaseholder to the freeholder — now restricted to a...

HMO (House in Multiple Occupation)

A shared rental let to three or more people from different households — often...

HomeBuyer Report (RICS Level 2)

A mid-level survey that flags significant issues — suitable for most...

House Extension

Adding floor area to a UK home by building out or up. Single-storey rear,...

You own the home for the life of the lease — often 99 to 999 years — and the...

Listed Building

A building the state has decided is historically or architecturally important —...

Loan-to-Value (LTV)

Your mortgage as a percentage of the property's value — the number that most...

Loft Conversion

Turning the loft into a habitable room — typically a bedroom plus an ensuite....

Mortgage in Principle

A soft statement from a lender saying roughly how much they'd lend you — useful...

Buying a new-build home before it's finished — sometimes before construction has...

Offerly or Offrly?

It's Offrly — no second 'e'. If you searched for 'Offerly' and ended up here,...

A shared wall between two homes — alterations to it trigger formal notice to the...

Permitted Development

Building work you can do on a UK home without a full planning permission...

Planning Permission

Council consent you need before you build, extend or change use — unless the...

The annual rent a property earns, divided by its value — the headline metric for...

What leaseholders pay toward shared upkeep — roof, hallways, lifts, gardens,...

Share of Freehold

You hold a long lease on the flat AND a share in the freehold of the building —...

The narrow alley alongside a Victorian or Edwardian terrace. Filling it with a...

A tax buyers pay on UK property purchases above a threshold — with different...

Tenancy Deposit

The refundable security deposit a tenant pays — capped by law and held in a...

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