Common housing terms and what they mean

Here you’ll find a list of definitions of some of the common words and phrases you might come across in information and documents setting out your rights in relation to your home.

Assured non-shorthold tenancy

A tenancy that does not have an end date and does not require renewal.

Building components

Elements that make up a building, for example, walls, floors, roofs, windows, heating systems, bathrooms and kitchens.

Category 1 Hazards

The legal term for hazards which are a serious and immediate risk to a person's health and safety.

Decent Homes Standard

A quality standard set by the government that social-rented homes must meet.

Housing Ombudsman

The organisation which sets the standard for the way social landlords deal with complaints. The Housing Ombudsman also reviews cases where residents are not happy with the way their landlord has handled their complaint, and makes orders for improvement where necessary.

Intestacy rules (for leaseholders)

These legal rules set out who can inherit if the person who has died has no will.

Making an observation (for leaseholders)

A process where a leaseholder provides feedback on proposals setting out estimated costs of works as part of a Section 20 consultation.

Mutual exchange

A process where two social housing residents swap their homes.

Registered Provider (of Social Housing)

A social housing landlord, usually a housing association or council.

Regulator of Social Housing (RSH)

The organisation which assesses Registered Providers, like us, to make sure we are operating responsibly and within the laws and standards that apply to the homes we manage.

Seeking a determination (for leaseholders)

A process where a leaseholder asks the First-tier Tribunal to determine whether they are liable to pay service charges for services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, insurance or management. Find out more on the government website.

Subletting

Renting your home to another person while you are not living there.

Subject Access Request

A request to see all of the information an organisation holds on its systems about you.

Succession

Succession is a legal term used when a person takes over a tenancy when the tenant dies. We call a person who inherits a tenancy the successor.

Tenancy agreement

This is a legal document that sets out what you can expect of us (your rights) and, in turn, what we will expect from you during your tenancy (your responsibilities).

Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs)

A new set of standard performance measures based on what residents think of their homes and services, which every social landlord must monitor and publish their results against (the first annual results for landlords in England will be published by the Regulator of Social Housing in Autumn 2024).