Buy to Let Mortgage Terms & Glossary

Accommodation officer. Person employed by a university, college or company to co-ordinate the provision of accommodation for their students or personnel.

Capital gains tax (CGT). A tax levied on profit from the sale of a property (and other assets) and subject to many rules, variations, exemptions and allowances laid out by HM Revenue & Customs.

Capital profit. Financial gain on the intrinsic value of a property.

Company let. Rather than letting to an individual, a company can take on the tenancy of a property.

Conveyancing. The legal processes involved in buying and selling property.

Council tax. A tax levied by the local authority and payable per property. Usually, when a property is self-contained, the tenant is directly responsible for council tax, otherwise the landlord is normally responsible.

Deposit. A sum of money paid by the tenant at the start of a tenancy and held by the landlord, to be used at the end of a tenancy to pay for damage to the property by the tenant or bills left unpaid by the tenant. The exact terms of the deposit should be set out in the lease document. Monies remaining from the deposit after deductions are reimbursed to the tenant.

Downtime. Any period when a property is not producing income.

Factoring. Service provided by a letting agent which usually encompasses most of the letting workload.

Grant funding. Money available towards the costs of certain property improvements, administered by the local authority and subject to qualifying conditions, often including means-testing.

Guarantor. One who guarantees the rent payment of a tenant.

Income profit. Financial gain from receiving rent. Expenses must be subtracted from rent received in assessing income profit.

Income tax. A tax levied on income profit and subject to many rules, variations, exemptions and allowances laid out by HM Revenue & Customs.

Indexation. An allowance granted in determining liability to capital gains tax, geared to compensate for the general trend of inflationary price rises up to April 1998.

Insurance. Away of protecting property, contents and rental income by paying for a policy.

Inventory. A detailed list of the contents of a property.

Landlord. Person who allows use of his property by another in exchange for rent and subject to conditions set out in an agreement.

Lease. An agreement between landlord and tenant setting out the terms and conditions of the deal.

Letting agent. A person or company engaged to perform, on behalf of a landlord, some or most of his letting duties in return for payment.

Multiple occupation. When tenants with separate lease agreements occupy parts of a single property, often sharing certain facilities.

Reference. A testimonial to the character or financial standing of an individual or company and/or an assessment of their suitability.

Renovate. To improve a sub-standard or unsuitable property by performing work on it.

Rent. Payment for the use of a property.

Rent-a-room scheme. A system which offers attractive tax relief on rooms rented within the landlord's home, subject to certain qualifying terms.

Resident landlord. Someone who lives in the same premises as his tenant.

Self-contained. A complete unit, sharing no primary facilities.

Squatter. Someone who gains entry to a vacant property without permission and with the intention of settling there.

Stamp duty. A tax levied on property purchases and on the notification of tenancy agreements.

Subletting. A tenant sublets by reassigning part or all of his rented property to another for rent.

Taper relief. An HM Revenue & Customs relief on CGT based on the principle that the longer a property is owned, the less tax is paid.

Ten per cent wear and tear. An allowance granted in determining liability to income tax, geared to compensate for repair and maintenance of furnishings.

Tenancy. Occupancy of a property by a tenant governed by a set of agreed terms and conditions.

Tenant. One who holds property on rent from a landlord.

Viewing. When a property on offer is shown to an interested party.