Resource
UK property glossary
A plain-English A–Z of the terms our valuers, surveyors and advisers use every day.
A
- All Risks Yield (ARY)
- Capitalisation rate that reflects all risks and rewards of holding an investment property; income divided by capital value.
- Affordable Housing
- Housing for sale or rent for households whose needs are not met by the market — including social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership.
C
- Comparable Evidence
- Recent transactional or rental evidence used to support a valuation opinion under the RICS Red Book.
- Covenant Strength
- The financial standing of a tenant; a key driver of yield, rental income certainty and capital value.
E
- Effective Rent
- Rent net of incentives such as rent-free periods or capital contributions, expressed as an equivalent annual figure over the term.
- EPC
- Energy Performance Certificate — required for most lettings and sales; minimum E rating applies under MEES (E by 2023, with proposed C by 2027/30).
- ERV (Estimated Rental Value)
- The market rent the valuer considers an interest could reasonably be expected to let for at the valuation date.
- Equivalent Yield
- Weighted average yield reflecting both initial and reversionary income flows; widely used in over-rented or under-rented investment valuations.
F
- Freehold
- Outright ownership of land and buildings in perpetuity, subject to statutory and planning constraints.
G
- Ground Rent
- Rent payable by a leaseholder to a freeholder under a long lease; reformed by the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022.
I
- Initial Yield (NIY)
- Net Initial Yield — passing rent net of non-recoverable costs, divided by gross purchase price including acquisition costs.
L
- LPA Receivership
- Appointment of a Receiver under the Law of Property Act 1925 to recover income or sell secured property on behalf of a lender.
- Loan to Value (LTV)
- Loan amount as a percentage of the property's market value; primary lending metric.
M
- Market Rent
- RICS-defined estimated amount for which an interest should let on the valuation date between willing parties on appropriate lease terms.
- Market Value
- RICS-defined estimated amount for which an asset should exchange on the valuation date between willing buyer and seller in an arm's-length transaction.
- MEES
- Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards — regulations restricting letting of properties below specified EPC ratings.
P
- PRS (Private Rented Sector)
- Privately owned residential property let to tenants, including BTR (Build to Rent) institutional schemes.
R
- Reversion
- The income or value expected at the next rent review, lease event or expiry — relevant where passing rent differs from ERV.
- Red Book
- RICS Valuation — Global Standards: the mandatory framework for chartered surveyors undertaking regulated valuations.
- RICS
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors — the UK's professional body regulating surveyors and Red Book valuations.
S
- S106 Agreement
- Planning obligation under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 — used to secure affordable housing, infrastructure or financial contributions.
- SDLT
- Stamp Duty Land Tax — the UK transaction tax on land and property purchases in England and Northern Ireland.
T
- Term & Reversion
- Income approach valuing the contracted (term) income separately from the post-event (reversion) income at different yields.
W
- WAULT
- Weighted Average Unexpired Lease Term — average lease length across a portfolio, weighted by income; usually quoted to expiry and to break.
Y
- Yield
- Annual income expressed as a percentage of capital value; the inverse of the Years' Purchase multiplier.
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