Conveyancing Glossary
- Radon Affected Area
- Seen often in conveyancing and revealed by the conveyancing searches a Radon Affected Area is a geographical area in which the levels of the naturally occurring gas radon are above a set level. When conveyancing searches reveal a Radon Affected Area the purchasers conveyancing solicitors will raise relevant conveyancing enquiries with the selling conveyancing solicitors regarding radon gas.
- Radon Gas
- Radon is a naturally occurring gas that forms from decaying particles of radium. Radon is a carcinogenic (cancer causing) substance and in the UK some areas are deemed to be more affected by radon than others. Some buildings can be susceptible to a build up of radon gas within the building. Usually both the local conveyancing search and environmental conveyancing search will reveal if the property is in a radon affected area. Upon confirmation that a property is within a radon affected area the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors will raise relevant conveyancing enquiries with the seller’s conveyancing solicitors as to whether the selling conveyancing client is aware of any radon issues affecting the property and as to whether any radon testing has been carried out at the property and whether any protective measures have been carried out at the property. The purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors will also advise the purchasing conveyancing client of the result of the search with regards to radon. If the property has not been tested it is possible for the purchasing conveyancing client to test the property following completion of the conveyancing transaction with the use of a purchasable test kit. If required protective measures can be incorporated into a property. Further information regarding radon can be obtained from the Health Protection Agency and the National Radiological Protection Board.
- Recitals
- In conveyancing terms this refers to a section in a Deed that deals with setting the scene for a conveyancing transaction. Usually drafted by a conveyancing solicitor as part of a deed required during the conveyancing process.
- Redeem
- Redeem means to pay off or discharge. In conveyancing transactions a seller’s conveyancing solicitors will provide a legal enforceable undertaking to the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors to redeem the selling conveyancing client’s mortgage and any secured loans on completion of the sale and upon receipt provide evidence of the redemption to the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors as part of the conveyancing post completion process. This term can also be used in conveyancing by conveyancing solicitors to refer to the formal redemption of a rent charge.
- Redemption Statement
- A Redemption Statement is an amount owing statement requested by conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of a selling or remortgage conveyancing client issued by a mortgage lender detailing the outstanding sum required in order to fully repay a mortgage or loan secured on a property. This will be requested from the mortgage lender with the authority of the borrower by the seller’s conveyancing solicitors and a copy provided to the selling conveyancing client to check. The purchasers conveyancing solicitors will normally require an undertaking from the selling conveyancing solicitors that they will redeem the mortgage on completion of the purchase.
- Re-Entry
- Re-Entry in conveyancing terms is a right usually granted in favour of the landlord in a lease in order that the landlord may enter upon the property to gain possession following forfeiture proceedings. Conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of purchasing conveyancing client in a leasehold conveyancing transaction will explain the provision for re-entry to the purchasing client during the process of the conveyancing matter.
- Referrals
- Usually used in conveyancing to describe conveyancing clients or conveyancing matters referred to a solicitors firm in exchange for a financial payment or referral fee. The Solicitors Code of Conduct sets out very strict rules for referrals to solicitors which include disclosing all referral fees attracted or paid during the course of a conveyancing transaction to the conveyancing client by the conveyancing client’s solicitors.
- Registered Land
- Registered Land is Land or property that the title to has previously been deduced and registered with the Land Registry.
- Registration
- Registration when referred to in conveyancing to describes the process of registering a change of ownership first registration of land or property or registration of rights notices restrictions or charges against a property’s title and is usually carried out by the conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of a purchasing conveyancing client as part of the formal post completion conveyancing work.
- Remortgage
- A Remortgage in conveyancing term is a conveyancing transaction involving the redemption (repayment) of the current mortgage and taking out of a new mortgage. Conveyancing solicitors may be appointed to deal with the Remortgage transaction by either the remortgaging conveyancing clients or the new mortgage lender. Conveyancing clients often wish to remortgage to obtain a better interest rate or terms of the mortgage or to raise funds by borrowing against the equity in their property.
- Rent
- A specified sum of money paid to a landlord in consideration of the tenant being allowed to occupy the property.
- Rent Charge
- A Rent Charge is most often described in conveyancing terms as a periodic sum arising out of land which is formed other than out of a landlord/tenant relationship. Therefore is only applicable in freehold conveyancing transactions. Since 22 August 1977 and the advent of the Rentcharges Act new Rent Charges have been prevented from being created. It is possible to redeem a Rent Charge in full and obtain a Deed of Release from the owner of the rent charge. Such a Deed if obtained can then be presented for registration in the course of a conveyancing transaction and the Rent Charge is removed from the title to the property. When dealing with a property with a rent charge a purchaser’s conveyancing solicitor will request the last receipt for payment of the Rent Charge from the seller’s conveyancing solicitors. Advice will then be given to the purchasing conveyancing client by the conveyancing solicitors on the Rent Charge including confirmation that the rent charge should be paid on (usually) an annual basis and valid receipts obtained for payment and held for future conveyancing purposes.
- Repossession
- A Repossession is a term used in conveyancing by conveyancing solicitors to describe the sale of a property being sold by a Mortgage Lender. When a property owner has a secured mortgage or loan and fails to pay the instalments due a mortgage lender may take action and repossess the property and offer it for sale on the open market in order to obtain repayment of their mortgage or loan. The property is known as a Repossession in conveyancing terms and by conveyancing solicitors. When purchasing a Repossession the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors will often be forced to carry out investigation of title without forthcoming information from the seller’s conveyancing solicitors or the selling conveyancing client. This is due to the fact that a mortgagee in possession of a property has no actual knowledge of the property and has never inhabited the property. Often copy documents required to check title will not be supplied by the mortgagee’s conveyancing solicitors and the purchasing conveyancing client must bear the cost of the obtaining such documents that may be required in order for their conveyancing solicitors to correctly and thoroughly investigate title in accordance with their conveyancing duties as part of the conveyancing process. Any fees charged by third parties for copy documents will be shown on the conveyancing completion statement provided to the purchasing conveyancing client by the conveyancing solicitors as a conveyancing disbursement. Such properties are most often sold as seen and do not include any additional items of fittings and contents. There are often strict time limits issued by mortgagees in possession as to when contracts must be exchanged by (in most cases with 28 days from receipt of the contract). Therefore both the purchasing conveyancing client and the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors are required to act as quickly as possible.
- Requisitions on Title
- Requisitions on Title are a form of enquiries sent to the seller’s conveyancing solicitors by the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors often following exchange of contracts and usually in a standard form. Requisitions on Title are very important and contain undertakings (legal binding promises) that the seller’s conveyancing solicitors will redeem all financial charges mortgages secured on the property and supply the appropriate form of discharge to the purchaser’s solicitors proving the mortgage or secured loan has been paid off as part of the conveyancing process.
- Rescission
- A term used in conveyancing to refer to the formal ending of a contract following service of a Notice to Complete by either parties conveyancing solicitors and expiration of the time limit. A contract may be rescinded by either a selling conveyancing client or a purchasing conveyancing client by virtue of the defaulting conveyancing party’s failure to complete the conveyancing contract within the specified time limits. In conveyancing transactions contracts are rarely rescinded.
- Reservations
- Reservations when used in conveyancing terms and on conveyancing deeds usually refer to rights or easements retained over a property by the seller (in the case of freehold property) or landlord (in the case of leasehold property) and can include rights reserved in order to enter upon the property to effect works or repair and maintenances or in the case of the purchase of a new build property rights can often be reserved to alter the boundaries. A purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors will advise a purchasing conveyancing client on any rights that have been reserved over the property during the conveyancing process.
- Reserve Fund
- Reserve Fund is a term used in mainly in leasehold conveyancing transactions by conveyancing solicitors and also known as a sinking fund. A reserve fund is fund of money normally kept by a management company or landlord in order to deal with major works of repair and maintenance that may be required in the future. Usually a reserve fund will be applicable for a purchasing conveyancing client buying a leasehold flat where the seller (along with the other flat owners in the block) pays a proportion of their service charge to the reserve fund in order avoid having to find large sums of money in order to effect major repairs when required. The situation of a reserve fund will be investigated by conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of a purchasing conveyancing client as part of the conveyancing procedure.
- Restriction
- A Restriction is a conveyancing term used in conveyancing most often to refer to an entry in the Proprietorship register of title to restrict the registered proprietor’s rights to deal (sell or remortgage) with a property. The most common form of Restriction seen in conveyancing transactions by conveyancing solicitors is a mortgage lenders Restriction preventing sale of the property without the written consent of the mortgage lender usually placed on the register upon registration of the mortgage by the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors. However in the case of leasehold conveyancing transactions conveyancing solicitors often see Restrictions placed on the title to prevent transfers in ownership without producing a certificate issued by the landlord or management company or their agents or solicitors to confirm certain terms of the lease (most often service charge provisions) have been complied with. Conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of purchasing conveyancing clients for properties with these types of restrictions must obtain the details of obtaining such a certificate during pre-completion conveyancing enquiries and obtain the certificate usually as part of the post completion conveyancing work involved in a conveyancing transaction. An individual or company must not apply to have a restriction placed on the register without reasonable cause. A restriction can be placed on the register with the proprietors consent or a third party can make an application to place a restriction on the register if they can show a sufficient interest. When selling a property the conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of a selling conveyancing client will be required to give an undertaking to as part of the conveyancing process remove a restriction placed on the register by a third party in relation to financial sums owed by the proprietor. A purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors must ensure that any such restrictions will be removed following completion of the purchase and appropriate discharge documents provided to them by the seller’s conveyancing solicitors as part of the conveyancing process.
- Restrictive Covenant Indemnity Insurance
- A Restrictive Covenant Indemnity Insurance policy is commonly used insurance policy in the course of conveyancing transactions by conveyancing solicitors. An insurance policy purchased to protect a proprietor and mortgage lender against losses incurred as a result of an action brought arising from a breach of covenant. Conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of purchasing conveyancing clients will often request that the sellers be responsible for the costs of such a policy by referring it to the seller’s conveyancing solicitors as part of the conveyancing title investigations carried out in the conveyancing process.
- Restrictive Covenants
- In conveyancing terms Restrictive covenants are legally binding promises annexed to the land or property by virtue of the covenanting parties agreeing to creation of the covenant usually in a conveyance of the land to a purchasing party. Restrictive Covenants are legal binding in nature and run with the land so that the person or company with the benefit of the Restrictive Covenant can take action against the original person who agreed the covenant (the original “covenantee”) or the current owner (proprietor) of the property. Restrictive Covenants should be negative in nature and often state that a certain act or behaviour should NOT be done on the property or land. Most freehold properties have some Restrictive Covenants the most common being not to erect new buildings or alter existing buildings without the written consent of the seller and not to cause a nuisance. On completion of the purchase of a property with Restrictive Covenants the new owner will also be subject to the existing Restrictive Covenants. The purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors when investigating title to a property on behalf of a purchasing conveyancing client will ask the seller’s conveyancing solicitors to confirm that the selling conveyancing clients have not breached any of the covenants and are not aware of any breach prior to their purchase of the property as part of the conveyancing title investigations carried out by the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors. If purchasing conveyancing clients are aware that a Restrictive Covenant has been breached they should inform the conveyancing solicitors of the breach. In cases where a breach has continued for a continuous period it may be possible for the conveyancing to proceed by using a conveyancing indemnity insurance policy to be purchased in the process of the conveyancing in order to protect the purchasing conveyancing client and the mortgage lender from any losses in relation to future action that may be taken for breach of covenant. Indeed mortgage lenders under the CML Lenders Handbook will insist indemnity insurance is put in place by the conveyancing solicitors if a known breach exists as part of the conveyancing transaction. In exceptionally long cases of continual breach of a restrictive covenant (such as over 20 years of continual breach) a view may be taken by the conveyancing solicitors that the person with the benefit of the covenant has acquiesced and no enforcement action can be taken. Purchaser’s conveyancing solicitors may accept this explanation if it can be proved by the seller’s conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of the selling conveyancing client during the course of the conveyancing transaction.
- Retention
- A sum of money held back. Retentions can be held by conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of a purchasing conveyancing client or by conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of a selling conveyancing client to be repaid on production of a required document or information usually as part of the post completion conveyancing process. Retentions in conveyancing transactions can also be held by a mortgage lender.
- Reversion
- In conveyancing terms Reversion usually refers to the freehold or superior leasehold title and is a term used by conveyancing solicitors in leasehold conveyancing transactions. The purchase of a freehold by the current leaseholder can be referred to as the leasehold reversion i.e. the title that the leasehold title will revert to at the end of the lease term.
- Right of Way
- A Right of Way is a term used in conveyancing by conveyancing solicitors and conveyancing practitioners to describe an easement granted over land not owned by the property owner but allowing the owner of a property to use the land not owned for the purposes of passing over it. A Right of Way can be for vehicles and on foot or on foot only. Conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of purchasing conveyancing clients as part of the conveyancing enquiries stage will investigate if a property requires any Rights of Way with the seller’s conveyancing solicitors and inform the purchasing conveyancing client of any rights to use adjoining land in the conveyancing title report.
- Right To Buy
- In conveyancing transactions a Right To Buy is usually a property being purchased by a purchasing conveyancing client from the local authority (or often a housing association) under the legislation enabling tenants to buy their properties from the local authority at a discount from full market value. The conveyancing process differs slightly from a normal conveyancing purchase but remains essentially the same. The local authority will usually retain an interest in the property (often for three years) in respect of the discount and conveyancing solicitors acting on behalf of the purchasing conveyancing client will advise the conveyancing client of the terms of the purchase and any period in which a discount (or proportion of the discount) may be required to be repaid to the local authority or housing association during the conveyancing process.
- Root of Title
- Root of Title is a term used in conveyancing by conveyancing solicitors in unregistered conveyancing transactions. The Root of Title is a deed which forms the basis of the selling conveyancing client’s title to the property.
Conveyancing Quotes
Evolved Conveyancing, from abt Law LLP, specialist
Conveyancing Solicitors
- Quality Online Conveyancing Service
- Low Cost Conveyancing Fees
- Governed by the Law Society
- Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
- Nationwide Conveyancing Service
- Approved by Mortgage Lenders
Get a budget Conveyancing Quote for your conveyancing transaction enter your property details in our Conveyancing Quotes Calculator
Choose a Conveyancing Service