Here is a helpful
list of the most common terms and their meaning.
Term
Meaning
AGM
The Annual General Meeting of a company
Block
A building containing individual flats and common areas shared between them
CLARA 2002
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002
Common parts
Those area of a block of flats that are common to all flat owners
Commonhold
A new form of tenure created by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. Commonhold allows for the freehold ownership of the individual flats within a block,and shared ownership of the common parts
D&O
Directors and Officers (usually refers to a particular type of insurance policy insurance)
DDA
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and / or Disability Discrimination Act 2005
EGM
An Extraordinary General Meeting of a Company
Enfranchisement
The process by which the leaseholders of a block can purchase the freehold of the building
Forfeiture
A legal process which enables a landlord to terminate a lease where the tenant is in breach and take back possession of his property
Freehold
Absolute ownership of a property - the most supreme form of tenure possible
Ground rent
A nominal amount paid by the lessee to the freeholder in compensation for the use of theland by the building in which the lessee has a flat
Landlord
Commonly the freeholder to the property, the landlord is a party to the lease and grants the use of the property for a definite period of time to the lessee. Also, known as lessor
Lease
The property contract between a lessee and lessor, setting out the terms of agreement between them
Lease Extension
The right of the lessee to demand the landlord to extend his lease to 99 years
Leasehold
A form of property ownership which provides the right to use and enjoy a property for a definite period of time
Lessee
The party to a lease who is granted the right to use and enjoy the property for a definite period of time
Lessor
See Landlord
Leasehold Property
Ownership of leasehold property means that the leaseholder has a right to use and enjoy that property for a defined period of time i.e. 99 years, 125 years or 999 years
Long Lease
In general a lease granted for a term certain of more than 21 years. There are other definitions, these are likely to be of significance under the right-to-buy legislation
Managing Agent
A company instructed to manage the common parts of a block of flats for a fee
NOTB
News on the Block - the magazine all about Flats
Property Manager
The individual person employed by a managing agent responsible for managing a block of flats
Reserve Fund
A sum of money saved up over a period of time to pay for emergency works or complying with maintenance obligations in a lease. Now, this term commonly includes the term "sinking fund" too
Resident Management Company
Legal entity set up to control the management of the block
Reversionary interest
The right to receive full ownership of a flat upon the expiration of the lease term
Right to Manage
The right of leaseholders within a block to take control of the management of the building into their own hands. A Right to Manage company in which each participating leaseholder is a member must be formed
RMC
Resident Management company
RTE
Right to Enfranchise company
RTM
See Right to Manage
Service charge
An amount payable by each lessee towards the maintenance and repair of the common parts of a block of flats
Sinking Fund
A sum of money saved up over a period of time to replace a defunct item, no longer
Tenure
The method by which property is owned. There are 3 types of tenure: freehold, leasehold and commonhold
