Jargon Buster
Stakeholder
A stakeholder is a third party or agent who is responsible for holding on to a tenant’s deposit and handing some or all of it back at the end of a tenancy agreement.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) rates
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), or ‘stamp duty’ as it’s more commonly known, is the tax levied by government on property purchases.
Stamp duty rates vary depending on the property’s purchase price and the buyer’s status, with first-time buyers and buyers of rental properties or second homes paying different rates to existing homeowners.
Stamping Tenancy
Required under the Stamps Act 1891 on payment of duty, an amount of money Agreement detailed in the Act due to the Inland Revenue.
Standing order
A standing order is set up by a tenant to pay rent directly from their bank account on regular intervals.
Statement of Account
Every time money is received from a tenant, a letting agent will send their landlord a statement of account reporting cash received, deductions and the total payment to the landlord.
Statutory Obligations
Statutory obligations refer to a landlord’s requirements and obligations through Acts of Parliament.
Subject to Contract
‘Subject to contract’ is a legal term placed on pre-contract documents.
Sublet
If a tenant renting a property lets part of the property out to someone else, this is known as subletting.
Subsidence
Damage caused to a property due to its foundations sinking is known as subsidence.
Summary Statement
A summary statement is the annual statement of account sent to a landlord by a letting agent.
Tax Exemption
The Inland Revenue office issues a number to letting agents approving rent money passing to a landlord without a tax deduction.
TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme)
Tenancy deposit protection schemes were brought in from April 6 2007 and all landlords or letting agents taking deposits from tenants as part of an Assured Periodic Tenancy (APT) must safeguard them in a scheme.