Property Details Glossary

When you’re searching for a property to buy or to rent on Rightmove, you’ll see there are lots of different terms used on the property details page. These describe how much it will cost and how long you can live there for.

Sales Listings:

Price

Knowing the purchase price means you can work out the total cost of buying the property. Not only mortgage payments and deposit, but also any stamp duty, legal and moving costs.

Type of Tenure:

Knowing the tenure of a property means you know how you’d legally own it and if there are any other costs or obligations linked with it.

Freehold

Freehold means you own the property and the land it’s built on. You’ll usually be responsible for maintenance of the property and have more freedom to extend or change it.

Share of Freehold

Sometimes the freehold ownership is shared between multiple properties in the same building, such as flats or maisonettes.

This means you’ll usually be responsible for maintenance of the property and have more freedom to alter or change it.

Leasehold

Leasehold means you buy the right to live in a property for a fixed number of years. A freeholder will own the land the property is built on. And generally, you’ll have to pay ground rent and services charges.

The length of the leasehold is recorded on the lease agreement. If the lease runs out, the ownership goes back to the freeholder. Leases can be extended, but it can be expensive.

The lease will outline what maintenance you and the freeholder are each responsible for. It’s likely you’ll need the freeholder’s permission to alter your home.

Commonhold

Commonhold is a type of freehold ownership for a property that’s part of an estate.

So, a flat within a block can be owned as freehold. And the common parts, like stairs and hallways, are owned and managed by a commonhold association, which is owned by the freeholders of the properties.

You’ll be required to join the commonhold association as an owner of a property in the commonhold. And you’ll need to contribute towards the cost of maintaining the estate.

Non-traditional Tenure

This is where a property does not fit into the standard freehold, leasehold, commonhold structure. This is very uncommon but most often occurs with park homes and houseboats where you will own the park home / houseboat but will need to rent the land / water on which is sits / berths from the owner of the park home site or mooring. There will then be associated costs for renting the land or mooring your boat and there may be service charges and other costs on top. You should speak with your agent to understand the full costs associated with owning a property that is not of a standard tenure. 

Shared Ownership

Shared ownership is a form of leasehold where you buy a percentage of the property, and pay rent on the share you don’t own. You may be able to purchase the remaining share at additional cost. When you want to sell the property you might need permission.

Length of Lease

The length of a lease means how long you’ve bought the right to live in the property for. The leasehold will be for a fixed number of years and will be recorded on the lease agreement.

When the lease runs out, the ownership goes back to the freeholder. Leases can be extended, but it can be expensive.

Ground Rent

Ground rent is a regular payment made by the leaseholder to the freeholder, or management company.

How much you pay and how often you pay it will be written into the conditions of your lease. If you don’t pay your ground rent, the freeholder could take you to court and ultimately repossess your property.

Ground rent varies from property to property. Some could be a few pounds a year, and others several hundred pounds or more.

Ground Rent Review Period

Ground rent will have a review period written into the leasehold agreement. This means the amount of ground rent can increase each time it’s reviewed. Costs which appear affordable now may not be in the future.

Peppercorn Rent

A peppercorn rent is used to describe a very low or token rent paid by a tenant to a landlord. It allows the tenant a right over the land and is likely to be charged on an annual basis. The name comes from leases where historically the rent was a peppercorn or a pound of peppercorns per year.

Annual Service Charge

Service charges are a regular payment for things like building insurance, caretakers, lighting, heating, cleaning and maintenance for shared areas of an estate.

Service charges are common for leasehold properties, but some newer freehold homes may also include a requirement to contribute towards maintenance of the estate’s communal facilities. These costs can increase and might be required to cover future maintenance that’s currently unknown. This is called a reserve or sinking fund. Always make sure that you understand the charges.

Sales Listings (auctions):

Guide Price

An indication of a seller’s minimum expectation at auction and given as a “Guide Price” or a range of “Guide Prices”. This is not necessarily the figure a property will sell for and is subject to change prior to the auction.

Reserve Price

Each auction property will be subject to a “Reserve Price” below which the property cannot be sold at auction. Normally the “Reserve Price” will be set within the range of “Guide Prices” or no more than 10% above a single “Guide Price”.

Lettings Listings:

Rent

Knowing the rental price means you know how much, and how often, you need to pay rent. This can help you plan your budget, and reduce the chance of missing a payment.

Security Deposit

A deposit provides security for a landlord against damage, or unpaid rent by a tenant.

Tenancy Length

The tenancy length is how long the landlord offers to let the property for. It is the minimum length of the tenancy and many landlords are willing to offer longer term tenancies. This will be recorded on a contract, or tenancy agreement, between you and a landlord.

Sales and Lettings listings:

Council Tax Band

Council tax is a payment made to your local authority in order to pay for local services like schools, libraries, and refuse or recycling collections. The amount of council tax you pay depends on the value of the property you’re living in.

There are some situations where you don’t have to pay council tax. Students, for example, aren’t required to pay, and some rental properties will include council tax within the rent.

Council tax bands for new homes will be estimated if the council hasn’t confirmed them yet.

EPC Rating

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provides you with information about a home’s energy efficiency rating. The rating ranges from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). An EPC must be ordered before a property is put up for sale or rent, and is valid for 10 years.

Listed Property:

A listed property is designated as being of architectural or historical interest, and will require special permission before it can be extended or altered. Specific maintenance and upkeep obligations may apply, and some properties may be required to be open to the public. 

Owners of listed properties should speak to the Conservation Officer at the local Council or English Heritage about any restrictions which may apply. 

There are 3 categories of listed property: 

Grade I listed

This includes buildings of exceptional interest, such as The Tower of London and Windsor Castle. 

Grade II listed

This is the most common classification for a private home, but also includes public buildings of special interest such as the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.  

Grade II* listed

This is given to particularly important buildings of more than special interest, including Battersea Power Station and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. 

Rights and restrictions:

Rights of Way

Rights of Way refers to various types of access that are allowed on a property. The examples of public and private rights of way below apply to the land on which the property sits, as well as the property itself. 

Public Rights of Way

A legal obligation to allow public access to private property, such as a footpath or bridleway. 

In many cases the property owner is responsible for upkeep, and will need to work with the council and other authorities to maintain the Right of Way.  

Private Rights of Way

The right for other private citizens to cross your land, or erect structures on, above or under your land without requiring your permission. This right extends to companies, so an example could be a pub where its staff, deliveries and customers need to cross your land to access the pub.  

Rights of Way – easements

An easement is the right to use or cross your land without permission. An example of this is a neighbouring property having a right of way across your driveway so they can access their home. 

Rights of Way – servitudes

The right for another party to alter your land, such as erect an overhead power line. Most servitudes remain unnoticed and already exist when a house is bought. 

Rights of Way – wayleaves

The right to use a small portion of your property in exchange for you being paid rent. Examples include companies erecting mobile phone masts, or power lines and telegraph poles which supply nearby properties.  

Restrictions and Restrictive Covenants 

Legal, community or personal restrictions around what you can and cannot do with the land you own. These can be set out in law or in a contract.  

Common examples of restrictions are: 

• Listed buildings 
• What you can do in a conservation area 
• All front doors must be black 
• Trees must be cut to a certain height 
• No barbecues on the balcony 
• Use of communal gardens in freehold properties 
• Use of communal corridors in leasehold flats 

Utilities

Utility supplies are basic services needed to keep a property comfortable and functional, such as electricity and water supply.  

Public supplies are maintained by utility companies, whereas a private supply such as an air source heat pump may incur additional costs and legal requirements.  

Parking

Parking can refer to how and where vehicles can be parked, and any associated costs. Factors to consider include whether a parking space is owned by you, if parking is communal, or if a permit is needed. 

Accessibility

Properties that have been designed or adapted to make them suitable for people with accessibility needs.   

Common accessible features include: 

• Level access 
• Lift access 
• Ramped access 
• Wet room 
• Wide doorways 
• Step-free access 
• Level access shower 
• Lateral living (a property where there is a kitchen, living room, bathroom and at least one bedroom on the entry level) 

Flooding

It is important to understand if a property is at risk of flooding, or if it has any flooding history.  If so, a potential buyer should check if there are flood defences at the property. 

Note: There are other factors to consider when purchasing a property – you should ask your agent if you think they are relevant but not included in the property description. These could include the construction type of the property, planning permission, building safety, coastal erosion and the impact of mining in the area.