Guide
Glossary
Orientation, not legal or financial advice.
Leasehold
You own the right to live in the home for a fixed number of years, not the building or its land.
Most London flats are leasehold. The lease sets how many years remain and what you pay the freeholder in service charge and ground rent. Short leases are dearer to extend and harder to sell or mortgage; 80 remaining years is a widely watched threshold. Freehold means you own the building and its land outright.
Service charge
Your share of the cost of running and repairing a leasehold building.
Paid to the freeholder or managing agent on top of your mortgage. It can rise every year and can include one-off bills for major works such as a new roof or lift. The London average is about £2,800 a year (Hamptons, Mar 2026), so ask for recent statements and any planned works before you offer.
Ground rent
A yearly payment to the freeholder that some leases require.
Older leases can set a ground rent that rises over time, which can make a flat harder to sell or mortgage. Reform has limited ground rent on most new leases, so check exactly what your lease says.
Gazumping
A seller accepts a higher offer after already accepting yours.
In England and Wales an accepted offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged, which can take weeks. Until then the seller can switch to another buyer, and the survey and legal fees you have already paid are lost.
Chain
Linked sales where each buyer must sell their own home before buying the next.
If one sale in the chain is delayed or falls through, every linked sale can stall; around a quarter of agreed sales fall through. Sellers and agents often prefer a chain-free or cash buyer, sometimes over a higher offer, because that buyer is more likely to complete.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
A tax on buying a home in England above a price threshold, charged in bands.
Buyers who are not UK resident pay 2 percentage points more on each band, and buying an additional home adds a 5% surcharge. Rates and reliefs change, so check the current rates before budgeting.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
An energy rating from A (most efficient) to G, needed when a home is sold or let.
It estimates running costs and suggests improvements. Agents often take the floor area from the EPC to quote a price per square foot. Privately rented homes are due to reach band C by 1 October 2030.
Council tax bands
A local tax on every home, set by its band (A to H in England) and its borough.
The occupier pays it, which usually means the tenant when renting. The same band costs different amounts in different boroughs, so look up the band before budgeting. From April 2028 homes worth £2 million or more pay an extra yearly charge.
Lease extension
Buying more years on a leasehold flat from the freeholder.
Most flat leaseholders have a legal right to extend the lease. The premium depends on the years left, the ground rent and the flat's value, and below 80 years it has traditionally risen sharply. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 is changing these rules, so get a valuer's and a solicitor's figure for your own lease rather than relying on a rule of thumb.
Building Safety Act and EWS1
The 2022 law on safety in taller residential buildings; EWS1 is a lender's external-wall form.
Buildings of at least 11 metres or 5 storeys give qualifying leaseholders protection from most cladding remediation costs, shown by a leaseholder deed of certificate. Buildings of at least 18 metres or 7 storeys with two or more homes are 'higher-risk' and must be registered with the Building Safety Regulator. Lenders may still ask for an EWS1 external wall fire review form.
Price Paid Data
HM Land Registry's public record of every home sold in England and Wales.
Each record has the price, completion date, property type, tenure and whether it was a new build. It does not record the floor area or the condition, and it can take a few months for a sale to appear. Close Knit shows these sales and area price ranges built from them; it never puts a value on a single home.