| Agreement | Another word for contract. |
| Boundaries | These indicate the extent of the property and are usually marked on the ground by fencing or hedging. Boundary ownership is sometimes, but not always, shown on Deeds and plans. |
| Building Insurance | Insurance taken out by the owner of the property to insure it against risks such as fire, flood, storm damage etc. The responsibility to insure the property usually passes to the Buyer on Exchange of Contracts. |
| Buy-to-let | Where a property is bought with the intention of letting it out to a rent-paying tenant. There are mortgages specific to this type of purchase known as buy-to-let mortgages. |
| Caveat emptor | Literally means ‘buyer beware’. The Buyer is responsible for finding out the condition of the property by survey and other enquiries and any matters affecting the legal title to the property by having their conveyancer check the title and carry out searches. |
| Chain | A situation in which successive buyers and sellers are reliant on other transactions being completed to make a sale or purchase effective. |
| Completion | This is when the Seller moves out and Buyer moves in (once the purchase funds have been transferred from the Buyer’s conveyancer to the Seller’s). |
| Compulsory purchase | The acquisition by a Local Authority or other Government body of a property, perhaps against the owner’s wishes. |
| Conservation area | An area protected by the Local Authority. Properties in a conservation area may be subject to greater planning restrictions. |
| Covenants | Obligations to do or not to do certain things. They are often contained in a Lease or referred to in the Title Information Document. A Covenant is a legal rule that is binding on the property and the property owners. Sometimes such covenants are broken, and in that case there is a possibility that the current or future owners of the property may be held liable and incur a penalty as a result of such breach of covenant. For example, sometimes there is a covenant in the title deeds that states that no extension works may be carried out at the property unless the previous written consent of the original developer of the property has been obtained. Sometimes owners build extensions in breach of such covenants and this would be an example of a breach of covenant. |
| Defective Title | A defective title means there is a problem with the legal title to the property, usually caused by missing, destroyed, lost or simply inadequate documentation. Buyers will not usually proceed if the title is defective unless the seller provides an insurance policy to protect them and the lender against any financial loss which could result from it. |
| Defective Title Insurance | This is an insurance policy which insures the owner and future owners against loss that may be suffered by them as a result of a defect of some sort in the legal title. |
| Easement | Right given to the owner of a property over an adjoining property. |
| Exchange of Contracts | The point where both Buyer and Seller become legally bound to proceed with the transaction. It usually takes place by telephone between the respective conveyancers, who each confirm they are holding a signed contract and that all the terms of it are agreed. |
| Gazumping | Where a Seller has agreed a sale price but then sells to another Buyer for a higher price. This can only happen before Exchange of Contracts. |
| Gazundering | Where a Buyer reduces his or her offer for a property after agreeing a price with the Seller. This can only happen before Exchange of Contracts. |
| Listed buildings | Listed buildings are protected by law. Properties that are listed are subject to rigorous planning restrictions. |
| Overriding interests | Not all matters affecting property are registered or capable of being registered at the Land Registry. Nonetheless the property is still subject to such matters. |
| Registered land | Registration of properties is now compulsory when they are sold, mortgaged etc. This was not always the case (see Unregistered Land below). Land registered at the Land Registry provides a guarantee of ownership and does not depend on the safekeeping of a collection of old Deeds and documents. |
| Surveyor | The person who is responsible for surveying a property (usually a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – RICS). |
| Unregistered land | When ownership of a property is not registered at the Land Registry, proof of ownership depends on production of a collection of old Deeds and documents. There are rules concerning exactly what documents have to be produced to prove ownership and if this cannot be done, the title is said to be defective (see Defective Title Insurance above). |
