Landlord Terms: A Glossary

If you happen to be a buy-to-let landlord or are considering renting out your property, you might come across industry-specific terms that can be rather perplexing. To help you on your journey, we have put together a list of some of the most common landlord terms in a short glossary so you can tell your ASTs from your HMOs.

 

Although there are many terms you’ll encounter in your landlord journey, these ones are a great starting point:

 

ADR: Alternative Dispute Resolution.

The ADR or Alternative Dispute Resolution is an independent adjudication service provided by your Deposit Protection Scheme. This service is there to protect both tenants and landlords should their be a dispute over the deposit. A tenant, for example, can dispute the holding of their deposit should they feel they did not damage the property.

 

Accidental Landlord

An accidental landlord is someone who unintentionally becomes a landlord. This can happen through a number of different means including inheriting a property, delays in being able to sell a property or delaying selling due to a downturn in property prices.

 

AST: Assured Shorthold Tenancy

An assured shorthold tenancy is a legal tenancy category in Wales and England. These typically last six months, after which the landlord can evict a tenant if desired.

 

EICR: Electrical Inspection Condition Report

An EICR (Electrical Inspection Condition Report), is a review of the properties electrics to ensure they are safe. These reports must be performed every five years in a rental property by a qualified electrician.

 

EPC: Energy Performance Certificate

An EPC (Energy Performance Certificate), measures how efficient a property is a property’s energy efficiency rating. Your property’s rating must be E or higher to be let out and needs to be updated every 10 years.

 

Gas Safety Check

Every year, you must ensure a Gas Safe engineer has performed a safety check on the property. You must provide tenants with a record of this check at the beginning of their tenancy and within 28 days of completion.

 

HMO: House of Multiple Occupation

Your property is an HMO (House of Multiple Occupation) when facilities are shared by multiple families or individuals with no family connection. Often this is known in the UK as a shared house.

 

Joint Tenancy

Two or more people renting a home together with joint responsibility.

 

Long Let

A tenancy term lasting more than six months.

 

Occupancy Rights

The rights included in a tenancy agreement giving your tenant the right to occupy the property.

 

PAT: Portable Appliance Testing

This involves examining electrical equipment on the property to ensure it is safe for use. It must be done by a qualified electrician, preferably annually or whenever tenants change.

 

PCM: Price Per Calendar Month

The cost to rent your property per month.

 

Right To Rent

Before you can legally rent your property to any tenant, you must check they’re legally permitted to rent a home in England.

 

Section 21

This notice must be given by the landlord to the tenant when they want the tenancy to end. You can only use Section 21 after the end of the fixed term of the tenancy. A minimum of two months’ notice must be given to quit the property.

 

Sub Let

When a tenant rents the property out, either in entirety or in part, to another individual. Tenants must obtain consent from their landlord to sub-let legally.

 

TDS: Tenancy Deposit Scheme

This Government-backed scheme ensures tenants can get their deposit back if they have met their tenancy agreement’s terms.

 

Tenancy Void

The time between tenancies when the home is vacant.

 

Wear and Tear

Any damage to your property caused by everyday living. Small scuffs on walls or worn carpets are examples of wear and tear. You cannot deduct this type of damage from the tenant’s deposit.

Young Professionals

A term typically used to describe someone in their 20s or 30s who works in a white-collar profession.

 

If you are a first time landlord and would like some support, reach out to the team at Sperring Residential. We work hard to make letting your property as stress free as possible. We can hold your hand through making sure you are compliant with the right regulations for letting out your property and help finding the right tenant to look after it. However, if you have any queries, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our friendly Lettings team are always on hand and happy to help.