RP Property & Lettings

AIP – Agreement in Principle
An Agreement in Principle is a pre-application agreement on how much you can borrow when applying for a mortgage.
AS – Assisted Sale
AST – Assured Shorthold Tenancy
This is the most common form of tenancy in England and Wales. It allows a tenant to remain in a property for a fixed-term period, so long as they abide by the terms of a tenancy agreement. It also allows landlords to regain possession of their property at the end of a fixed term.
BMV – Below Market Value
Buying properties for less than their value.
BOE – Bank of England
BRR – Buy Refurbish Refinance
Buying properties, refurbishing them and refinance them to recycle your money back out.
BTL – Buy to Let
When you purchase a property to rent out, it’s classed as a BTL property. Property for this purpose needs a BTL mortgage, too.
ComCon – Commercial Conversion
CRM – Capital Repayment Mortgage
If you’re looking at a mortgage for your BTL property, it will likely be on a capital repayment basis – meaning you repay the loan over time rather than simply the interest.
DD – Due Diligence
EPC – Energy Performance Certificate
From 2025 all rental properties will need an EPC rating of C or above – making off-plan or new build properties the best choice for this strategy.
ERC – Early Repayment Charges
If you’re looking to sell a property, you should always check with your mortgage provider in case there are ERC attached to your mortgage product.
Flip
HHSRS – Housing Health and Safety Rating System
Another important one for landlords. The HHSRS is used to grade a property’s suitability to be lived in and is usually used by local authorities to identify health and safety issues in residential properties.
HMO – House of Multiple Occupancy
HMOs are rented out on a room basis by at least three people who are not from the same household but share facilities.
IHT – Inheritance Tax
Inheritance Tax is a tax on the estate (the property, money and possessions) of someone who’s died.The standard Inheritance Tax rate is 40% on the part of your estate that’s above the £325,000 threshold. To find out more visit the gov.uk website.
JV – Joint Venture
A JV is a business arrangement where two or more people purchase a specific asset together.
JVP – Joint Venture Partner
A JVP is one member of the group investing together.
LO – Lease Option
NB – New Build
NLA – National Landlords Association
Providing support for over 40,000 UK Landlords.
NP – Net Profit
How much profit is left after covering your overheads.
PCM – Per Calendar Month
Used to measure rental income.
Portfolio Sales – Portfolio
Sell and/or purchase a group of properties
PRS – Private Rented Sector
The PRS is how the Department for Communities and Local Government refer to the sector of the UK housing market that is rented.
PWN – Property Wealth Network
A fantastic opportunity for you to meet like-minded investors and industry professionals. Locations include London, Manchester and online.
R2HMO – Rent to House of Multiple Occupancy
R2R – Rent to Rent
R2SA – Rent to Service Accommodation
ROI – Return on Investment
The return is the profit you make as a result of your investments.
ROI = Net income / Cost of investment x 100.
SA – Serviced Accommodation/Serviced Apartments
Renting property out on a nightly basis.
SDLT – Stamp Duty Land Tax
To find more about the costs you would pay as an investor, head over to our blog.
SSIP – Self Invested Personal Pension
A SIPP gives you freedom to choose what it is invested in – one of the options that you can invest in is property and land – but not most residential property. You usually get 20% tax relief investing this way.
SSAS – Small Self-Administered Scheme
A SSAS is a corporate pension scheme, exclusively designed for company directors. This pension is independently managed by the company that sets it up, who can choose how their pension savings are invested, including investing in the company. There are many benefits to using a SSAS for property investment.
To find out more about how your pension can fund your property investments (and visa versa) read ‘Making Property Your Pension’.
SVR – Standard Variable Rate
When your BTL mortgage product expires, you’ll be moved on to your lender’s SVR, which will usually be between 2% and 5% above the BOE base rate.
TB – Tenant Buyer
TDP – Tenancy Deposit Protection
When renting out your BTL property, you’ll need to take a security deposit from your tenants. This must be lodged with one of three government-backed TDP schemes within 30 days and all deposits must be handed back to tenants within 10 days of reaching an agreement on the amount to be returned.