Glossary Of Legal Terms

An unpreventable destructive occurrence of the natural world.

A document, the contents of which are confirmed on oath by its maker as being true

A transaction among parties, each of whom acts in his own best interest

The list price that an owner would like to receive.

To transfer property or legal interest

Similar to a cheque but cannot be cancelled or countermanded once drawn. Payment is guaranteed by the Paying bank

The lease may contain an option by which one or both parties may determine the lease at a particular time

A site whose former use involved hazardous materials

A person having an interest in the land may register a caution with the land registry, requiring it to notify him of any proposed dealings with the land

Warnings, often written to a potential buyer, to be careful; often offered as a way for the seller or the broker to minimize liability for what otherwise might be a deceptive trade practice

Security for the payment of a loan in addition to the principal security e.g. deposit of share certificates or a life insurance policy in addition to a mortgage

A piece of land subject to rights of common e.g. the rights in common with others of pasture, fishing, cutting wood or graze

1. An amount earned by a real estate broker for services performed
2. The official body that enforces real estate license laws

When a seller gives possession or rights to a buyer of a property in exchange for the purchase price

The terms on which the buyer is to take the property

The amount that the buyer pays for the property in money or other items

An agreement enforceable by law. Unlike most contracts, a contract for the sale of an interest in land must be in writing. A valid written contract can be created inadvertently

A deed that passes an interest in property from one to another

An agreement creating an obligation contained in a deed. Some covenants are said to 'run with the land'; in these cases the liability or benefit of the covenant is passed to the buyer of the land on transfer of the title

The grant of a right of way to the public over private property

A formal document that is 'signed, sealed and delivered' to prove and testify the agreement of the parties whose deed it is to the terms set out

A sum of money that is paid by the buyer on formation of the contract to buy as security for the fulfillment of the bargain

Actions such as building works or change of use of property which in most cases may not take place without planning permission from the local authority

Real estate that is under foreclosure or impending foreclosure because of insufficient income production

A place of residence

A right one landowner has over land of someone else (e.g. right of way, right of light, right of support, right to a flow of air or water)

A fixed term will terminate at the end of that term

A freehold estate in land (as opposed to a leasehold) where the owner of the land has no time limit to his/her period of ownership

See 'fee simple'

A circumstance where a seller is under compulsion to sell and/or a proper marketing period is not available

Forfeiture is the landlord's right to re-enter the premises and determine the lease on breach by the tenant of any of his covenants or upon the happening of certain specified events. However the right to forfeiture is not automatic it exists only where the lease expressly includes such a right

A business asset of intangible value created by customer and supplier relations

Obligations and restrictions etc affecting property

See 'letters of administration'

A person has an 'interest' in land when he has rights, titles, advantages, duties or liabilities connected with it

Joint ownership of land where on the death of a joint tenant his/her title passes to the survivor(s) - Compare with tenant in common

Amounts paid to initially lease a property, especially in countries where there is a scarcity of the type of property desired

The activity of purchasing land that is not presently needed for use

Certain pending actions, court orders, deeds of arrangement, mortgages, restrictive covenants, easements and other interests that a person may have over property of someone else can be registered as land charges in the land charges registry.

The relationship between landlord and tenant depends on the contract made between them. The landlord grants exclusive possession of premises or land to the tenant for a defined period of time and receives payment ("rent") in return. This area of law is heavily regulated by acts of parliament such as rent acts and landlord and tenant acts etc

The contractual document setting out the agreement reached between landlord and tenant

The limited tenure by which a tenant only has rights to property for a limited period of time, as opposed to freehold

Record of officially designated historic properties that are not allowed to be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local planning authority. Not all historic properties are necessarily listed

The method by which money is lent and the lender obtains an interest in property of the borrower: - for the purpose of securing the repayment of the loan (also called a "legal charge ")

The person to whom the property is mortgaged; the lender.

The person who mortgages his/her property as security for the debt; the borrower

A periodic tenancy may be determined by service of a notice to quit by either party

A person who takes part in a transaction or legal proceeding

A wall adjoining property to different owners. It is treated as being severed vertically between the owners I each of whom has the necessary rights of support and use over the rest of the structure

A formal document by which one person empowers another to represent him/her or act for him/her for certain purposes

A right to purchase property before or in preference to others, sometimes called a 'right of first refusal'

A certificate granted by the high court stating that a deceased person's will has been proved and registered in the court and that the executor may administer the estate of the deceased in accordance with the terms of the will

The legal mechanism whereby the agreed rent on the property is changed (normally increased) at a predetermined date(s) during the term of the lease. In the UK, rent reviews are normally "upwards only" and are every 5 years

The right one person has to pass over land of another. The right can be either public or private

A form of taxation levied by the government by means of stamps impressed on certain documents. The rate of duty is either fixed in amount or ad valorem, i.e. proportionate to the value of the property dealt with in the document

A lease from a lessee to another lessee. The new lessee is a sub lessee or subtenant

Surrender occurs where a tenant relinquishes his lease to his immediate landlord with his landlords consent. An express surrender must be created by deed

Joint ownership of land where the owners have joint possession, but hold the freehold to their own share. On the death of a tenant in common his/her share passes under the terms of his/her will or on intestacy and not to the surviving tenants in common ¬Compare with Joint tenants

See landlord and tenant

Documents conferring or showing title to land. In areas of compulsory registration of title, title deeds are replaced by either a land or charge certificate