Glossary

Party Walls

This is a dividing wall between two separate properties or households. It is common in terraced and semi-detached properties.

Peppercorn Rent

A legal metaphor for a very small payment or nominal consideration given upon the creation of a legal contract

Permitted Development

Permitted development is an aspect of Town and country planning which allows people to undertake minor development under a deemed grant of planning permission, therefore removing the need to submit a planning application. It is used for minor items of building works.

Personal Local Authority Search

This is a Local Authority Search which is carried out by our Agents. They visit the councils and inspect all the records themselves. Personal searches are cheaper than Official ones in the majority of cases and when bought in conjunction with our other searches can be priced extremely competitively.

Planning Permission

This is the formal approval sought from a Local Authority to be allowed to build on land, develop a property or change the use of land or buildings. All registered planning permissions for a property will be found in our Local Authority Searches.

Possessory Title

This is usually offered by the Land Registry when the owner is in legal possession of a property but does not have Absolute Title.

Post Completion

This is the time after the property transaction has finished and the sale has gone through.

Power of Attorney

This is the act, or legal document, which gives someone the authority to act for another person in specified or all legal or financial matters.

Pre-completion Searches

These are the searches which are carried out at the last moment just before completion to ensure that nothing has changed since exchange (such as purchaser being declared bankrupt).

Pre-contract Enquiries

These are the list of questions one solicitor will send another that need to be answered before the sale agreement can be drafted.

Primary Shopping Frontage / Area

That area of a shopping centre which is generally the busiest, and contains the largest shop units and major multiples. These are primarily in use Class A1.

Priority of Charges

Sometimes there can be a number of charges on a property. The Priority of Charges dictates the order in which they will need to be paid off.

Priority Period

This is a term used by the Land Registry and means the period beginning at the time when the application for one of their searches is entered on the day list and ending at midnight on the 30th or 36th day.

Private Open Space

Open space that is usually privately owned and is not usually accessible by members of the public.

Private Water & Drainage Search

This is our version of a Water & Drainage search where we send one of agents to inspect the public sewer map. These are a lot cheaper than the Official Version. If you would like to know prices or ask for a sample please make an enquiry.

Probate

Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will

Property Chain

This is when a number of property transactions are dependant on others (e.g.; when a seller needs to sell their house in order to buy another).

Public Open Space

Land provided in urban or rural areas for public recreation, though not necessarily publicly owned.

Public Right of Way

A way where the public has a right to walk, and in some cases ride horses, bicycles, motorcycles or drive motor vehicles, which will be designated either as a footpath, a bridleway, a road used as a public path (RUPP) or a byway.

Purchase Deed

This is the legal document that sets out the terms of the purchase. It can sometimes be called the Transfer Deed.