A Glossary of Housing Related Terms - Part 1

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Legal rights and regulations concerning housing related matters are most commonly associated with laws surrounding the ownership of property (in its broad legal definition) and more specifically, fixed property (buildings, land, fixtures and fittings etc), known as real estate in some jurisdictions. The following article aims to provide an introduction into some of the key terms that are involved in property and therefore housing law.

Landlord
The owner of any real estate or property (including land) that is rented (i.e., leased – see below) by another party. In some scenarios the landlord can be the party who rents the property from the party who has personal ownership of it, and in turn subleases it – in which case they will still have superior title to that property over the underlying tenant.

Tenant
A tenant is someone who has hold over something – defined as a tenement – but does not own it. The term is most prominent in housing law where a tenant is therefore someone who rents the use of a property from a landlord. Tenancy comes with rights of occupation over the property concerned, despite the fact that the property is never considered to be under the tenant’s personal ownership.

Lease
A more general term describing a contract requiring payment by a user of something to the owner of that thing, for a certain amount of time. In the context of fixed property or real estate, a lease will commonly be referred to as a rental agreement and will be arranged between a landlord (lessor) and tenant (lessee).

Eviction
The process of removing someone from a property, the term ”eviction” doesn’t describe a specific scenario. Lawful evictions occur where the inhabitant has no legal right to live in the property because they have broken terms of their lease, their lease has expired or someone else has a superior claim to the ownership of the property (including lenders following a default on a mortgage).

Unlawful eviction can occur when these conditions are not met, most commonly when a landlord forcibly removes a tenant without following legal processes, particularly when they have failed to serve to required notice.

Repossession
The process of an owner of a property who has superior title/ownership rights on that property claiming it back into their possession, without going through court. The process can be carried out by a lender where a loan has been secured against property, or by an owner in the case of property being leased out. The legal right to repossess will usually be triggered only by a failure to pay monies due in either case.

In the UK the term is most commonly associated with the reclaiming of a property stake by a mortgage lender in the event of the borrower defaulting on the mortgage (i.e., failing to make repayments).

Squatter
An individual who occupies land or property (usually abandoned or unoccupied before they take up residence) over which they have no legal rights. Depending on the jurisdiction a squatter could be committing either a civil or criminal offence, however, in England and Wales squatting has been classified a criminal offence as of 2012.

To find out more about legal matters surrounding housing issues you can visit a specialist housing law firm.