Updated . Terms as used in home sales in England and Wales.
BASPI
Buyer's and Seller's Property Information form. The Home Buying and Selling Group's single questionnaire for the information needed at the point of marketing, reviewed yearly. The usual basis for a seller's pack questionnaire; it overlaps heavily with the TA6.
Building Safety Act 2022
The law that followed the Grenfell Tower fire. It creates protections for leaseholders in "relevant buildings" (at least 11 metres or five storeys) against the cost of fixing historical safety defects, and the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate and Landlord's Certificate that record a building's position.
Chain
The linked series of sales and purchases that depend on one another. A seller who is not buying onward is "chain-free" at their end.
CON29, LLC1, CON29DW
The standard components of the searches: the local authority enquiries (CON29), the local land charges search (LLC1) and the drainage and water search from the water company (CON29DW).
Condition report
A surveyor's assessment of a property's condition. In the RICS system a Home Survey Level 1 (condition ratings), Level 2 (the common choice, with advice on repairs) or Level 3 (full building survey).
Conveyancer
The solicitor or licensed conveyancer who handles the legal transfer of a property. Conveyancing is a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007 that only authorised persons may carry out.
DMCC Act
Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Its consumer provisions, in force from 6 April 2025, replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and ban misleading practices and the omission of material information, with direct enforcement by the Competition and Markets Authority.
EPC
Energy Performance Certificate. Rates a home's energy efficiency from A to G, is valid for ten years, must be commissioned before a home is marketed and is held on the public EPC register.
Exchange and completion
Exchange of contracts is the point at which the sale becomes legally binding; completion is the day ownership and money change hands. Today either party can withdraw without penalty before exchange, which is why fall-throughs are common.
Fall-through
An agreed sale that collapses before exchange. Around one in three transactions in England and Wales fall through, according to the government's roadmap.
Freehold, leasehold, share of freehold, commonhold
The forms of tenure. Freehold is outright ownership of the land and building. Leasehold is ownership for a fixed term under a lease from a freeholder, typical for flats. Share of freehold is leasehold where the leaseholders jointly own the freehold. Commonhold is a form of freehold ownership of flats with shared management, rare today but promoted by the government.
Home Information Pack (HIP)
The seller's pack required in England and Wales from 2007 until it was suspended in 2010. The condition report was dropped before launch. The 2026 roadmap draws lessons from it.
Home Report
Scotland's seller's pack, required before marketing since 1 December 2008: a single survey and energy report by a chartered surveyor and a property questionnaire by the seller.
HM Land Registry
The government body that keeps the register of land ownership in England and Wales. The title register and title plan can be downloaded for £7 each. It also runs the Local Land Charges programme and publishes the digital identity standard for conveyancing.
LPE1
Leasehold Property Enquiries. The Law Society form a freeholder or managing agent completes with service charge, ground rent, insurance, major works and building safety information. The core of the leasehold information pack, and the slowest item in most flat sales. FME1 is the equivalent for freehold houses on managed estates.
Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024
Received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024. Among other things it contains powers to cap the fee and set a deadline for leasehold sales information, to be brought in by regulations.
Material information
Information a reasonable buyer needs to decide whether to view, offer or buy. A listing must not omit it under the DMCC Act 2024. The earlier National Trading Standards guidance (Parts A, B and C) described the categories and has since been withdrawn.
PDTF
Property Data Trust Framework. The Open Property Data Association's open JSON schemas and API standards for sharing property information between systems; version 2 maps the BASPI, leasehold forms, searches and TA forms.
Provenance
The recorded source and date of each item in a pack: stated by the seller, retrieved from a register, extracted from a document, produced by a professional, or supplied by a third party.
Reform roadmap
The Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 19 June 2026, setting out the move to upfront sales packs, digital logbooks and, later, binding contracts.
Search Code
The code of practice for property search providers overseen by the Property Codes Compliance Board. Searches from subscribers are accepted by most lenders.
Searches
Enquiries of the local authority, water company and other bodies about matters affecting a property: planning, roads, land charges, drainage, flooding, contamination, mining. Usually ordered as a set through a regulated provider for £250 to £450.
Section 20 notice
The consultation notice a landlord must serve on leaseholders under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 before major works or long-term agreements above set cost thresholds.
TA6, TA7, TA10
The Law Society's transaction forms: the Property Information Form (TA6; 6th edition mandatory for Conveyancing Quality Scheme firms from 30 March 2026), the Leasehold Information Form (TA7) and the Fittings and Contents Form (TA10), completed by the seller with their conveyancer after an offer.
Title register and title plan
The official record of a registered property: the register names the owner, tenure, charges, covenants, easements and restrictions; the plan shows the extent of the land. Both come from HM Land Registry.
UPRN
Unique Property Reference Number. The national identifier for every addressable location in Great Britain, used to match a property across data services.
Upfront sales pack
The standardised set of information and documents about a property gathered before it is listed for sale, as proposed in the government's 2026 reform roadmap. Also called a sales pack, a seller's pack or upfront information.