A while ago, we published a series of blogs that looked at some of the most common jargon used in the home buying process, and broke it down into understandable English for you. We had a lot of positive feedback on those blogs, and so we decided to expand them out a little. You see, if you’re looking to become a first-time landlord (or you’ve found yourself as one by accident), then there is a lot of jargon involved there as well – some of which is easy to understand, and some is a bit more complex. So to make sure you’re up to speed when talking to estate agents and tenants, we wanted to give you a hand and do some jargon-busting in the world of landlords.
Lets start with some easy ones.
Landlord: You. The owner of a property who rents or leases it to a tenant.
Resident Landlord: A landlord who lives in the property that they rent out to a tenant.
Accidental Landlord: Someone who owns a property, but didn’t initially intend to rent it out. This is usually because they are finding it hard to sell their property or are moving away with work, for example, or because they have inherited a property they don’t wish to live in.
Tenant: The person or people who live in a property owned by a landlord.
Subletting: When a tenant lets part or all of the property they are renting to someone else – known as a subtenant. In most cases this is not allowed, unless specifically agreed with the landlord in writing beforehand. If subletting is done without agreement, then legal action can be taken against tenant and subtenant.
Eviction: The process of moving a tenant out of your property permanently. This is usually because they have broken the terms of their tenancy agreement – like not paying their rent – or when the landlord needs to regain use of the property – like to sell it.
Tenancy Deposit Protection: This is a mandatory scheme and legal requirement for all UK landlords. When a tenant pays you a security deposit, it must be put into a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme. There are a lot of these to choose from across the country. The purpose of these schemes is to ensure the safety of the tenants deposit, and ensure it is held in a neutral location – accessible to be given back to the tenants on move-out, or partially withheld to pay for repairs if needed. If you don’t use one of these schemes, the tenant may not have to leave the property when the tenancy ends, or you may end up having to pay back three times the amount of the deposit to the tenant.
Prescribed Information: This is information that has to be given to your tenant within 30 days after receiving their deposit. The information includes:
- Which scheme their deposit is protected by
- Contact details for the scheme
- Reasons the deposit may be held back
- How to resolve disputes with the deposit
HMO: This stands for House of Multiple Occupancy. It’s any single property that holds at least three people who are not from the same household and share certain facilities. So a family would count as one household, but 3 students sharing a house would be a HMO. HMO’s are particularly popular in student areas, but they can also be used by professionals as well. There are some different rules around HMOs, so it’s important to decide how you want your property to be rented out before you start, and speak to your estate agent for guidance.
That’s all we’ve got room for today, but don’t worry, we’ll be back! We’re going to keep running through the entire A-Z of landlord and rental terms until you’re as knowledgeable as an estate agent, and can go through the process effortlessly. In the meantime, if you would like to know more about any of the terms we’ve talked about today, or if you want some advice on renting out your property, we’d love to help. Just get in touch with us today and book your free consultation visit.
