Residential Lettings can, at times, be a bit of a minefield.

Sometimes we forget that not all our readers are experienced in Lettings and so we have decided to start the year off with a top 10 list of Lettings Jargon Busters for Landlords, Tenants and Letting Agents.

1. Accelerated Possession Procedure – This is a quicker and cheaper way of obtaining possession of a property which is created under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, if a Section 21 notice has already been served and has expired. The conditions of this procedure is that the tenant must be the original tenant and the landlord must not be claiming any rent arrears
2. Appointed Representative – This is when a Lettings Agency is regulated and monitored by a chosen principal firm, and offers a certain insurance product.
3. Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) – This is a type of assured tenancy under the Housing Act 1988, granted for a fixed or periodic term, giving the tenant only limited security of tenure. The AST is now the automatic default tenancy created between a landlord and a tenant of residential property. A landlord must give at least two months’ notice to end an AST. Tenants have security for the fixed period or six months, whichever is longer.
4. Break Clause - A break clause is when either a Landlord or Tenant wishes to exercise an option to terminate a tenancy agreement during a fixed-term lease, which may be exercised after a certain period or on the occurrence of a specific event.  A break clause would be written into the agreement before both parties signed.



5. Clawback - Clawback is a method of retrieving overpayments of housing benefit, for example if a tenant makes a fraudulent claim. Overpayments cannot be recovered if they are due to an administrative error by the local authority.
6. Consideration - Consideration is used in Law to describe the legal term for (rent) payment. Consideration does not necessarily have to be money — it can be goods or property. A tenant that is skilled in boat making, may offer the to build the Landlord a Boat in return for 6 months accommodation. The consideration does not have to reflect fair value.
7. Contract – An agreement recognised in law that can be enforced by the courts. It may be written, spoken, a mixture of written and spoken, or implied by the conduct of the parties involved. Contracts in Lettings are commonly referred to as Licences or Leases.
8. Dilapidations - The word, dilapidations, is a technical term meaning ‘disrepair’ or ‘damage’. It is usually the letting agent’s role to assess dilapidations at the end of a tenancy, but allowance must be made for fair wear and tear.  If a Landlord manages their own property, the landlord may employ an inventory clerk to assess the damage but only if their was an inventory drafted at the start of the tenancy.
9. Due Diligence – Due diligence may often be used by Landlords or Letting Agents as a defence against prosecution.  For example, under the plugs and sockets etc (safety) regulations 1994, if an agent or landlord can prove they have taken all reasonable precautions to make sure furnishings are safe, they have not committed an offence
10. Exclusive Possession – A tenant’s sole right to live in a property, or part of it, which makes them a lawful tenant. Exclusive possession is one of the three key elements of a tenancy (along with rent and a time period) and was established by the court case of Street v Mountford in 1985

There are hundreds of words, phrases and acronyms used in Lettings, far too many to list on one post.  Therefore, we have now dedicated an entire category to Jargon which we will update every now and then.

If you would like to contribute to our Jargon Buster, please use the comments fields below!  Happy reading.