Patwari:
Usually denotes the person appointed by a local government
or land authority to maintain and update land ownership
records for a specific area as well as to undertake the
collection of land taxes
Penal rent:
A financial punishment of a tenant for failing to honour
his obligation to pay rent at the proper time, taking the
form of a vastly higher figure being payable during the
period of default Permitted one Colloquially, either
1. A use authorised by a grant of planning permission or
2. A use allowed by the deemed grant of planning permission
under the local development control norms.
Pre-stressed concrete:
A type of reinforced concrete in which all or some of the
ordinary steel reinforcement is replaced by high-tensile
steel bars or wires which are tensioned by 'pre-tensioning'
or 'post-tensioning'. The number and positioning of wires
or tendons can be arranged to eliminate all tension in the
concrete, thereby preventing cracking and so rendering the
concrete watertight and gas-tight as well as increasing
in durability. Pre-stressed concrete structures can achieve
greater spans and carry higher loading.
Premium rent:
1. A rent above the level which a property could reasonably
be expected to command in the open market on normal terms.
Such rents may be justified in instances where the tenant
receives a present or future benefit against the market.
e.g. in inflationary conditions where upward-only rent reviews
are normally required at three-yearly intervals, the tenant
may be prepared to pay a higher rent if fixed for a longer
period of say, 5 years.
2. A rent, which is higher than, would reasonably be expected
because the tenant is particularly anxious to secure the
property.
Private treaty:
The most common method of disposal of real property, in
which negotiations are carried out between the vendor and
prospective purchasers (or their respective agents) privately
and in comparative secrecy, normally without any limit on
the time within which they must be completed before contracts
are exchanged.
Project management (development management):
The leadership role which plans, budgets, co-ordinates,
monitors and controls the operational contributions of property
professionals, and others, in a project involving the development
of land in accordance with a client's objectives in terms
of quality, cost and time. Property investment trust:
A public company, having certain tax advantages and complying
with rules applicable to its operation and investment activities,
managed by a professional specialist team and established
for the purpose of acquiring mainly shares in property companies-public
or private. To such an extent, as is permitted legally,
without prejudicing its beneficial tax treatment, it may
invest in other securities, own property directly or undertake
development. It provides shareholders with an interest in
a wide ranging portfolio and the reassuring knowledge that
investment policy is in the hands of experts.
Property management:
The range of functions concerned with looking after buildings,
including collection of rents, payment of outgoings, maintenance
including repair, provision of services, insurance and supervision
of staff employed for services, together with negotiations
with tenants or prospective tenants. The extent of and responsibility
for management between landlord and tenant depend on terms
of the lease(s). The landlord may delegate some or all of
these functions to managing agents.
Property portfolio management:
The unified management of a group of properties, which are
held in one ownership. Decisions taken in respect of any
issue are reached on the basis of achieving the maximum
benefit for the owners, having regard to the effect on the
portfolio as a whole rather than on an individual property.
Pugree:
An Indian term used to describe an interest free security
deposit given to landlords which is refundable at the expiry
of the lease term to the outgoing tenant by the successive
tenant.
Qualified
Covenant:
A restriction contained in a legal document which limits
the rights of a person having an interest in the land but,
by its wording envisages the possibility of removing the
limitation on terms agreed between the parties e.g. a covenant
by a lessee not to assign or sublet without the landlord's
written consent. In certain cases, such as the one quoted,
statute law strengthens the applicant's position by importing
such words as "such consent not to be unreasonably
withheld".
Rack-rent:
A rent representing the full, or nearly the full, letting
value of a property on a given set of terms and conditions.
Rateable value:
The figure upon which property tax is charged in India.
This value is determined by the tax authorities and thereafter
the tax liability is charged to the owner(s) of the property
on the basis of certain pre-determined tax slab rates.
Real Estate Investment Trust (USA/UK):
A legally constituted organisation (entitled to preferential
tax treatment) which enables investors to own and transfer
shares of an interest in a property or properties; the shares
can be dealt with in a manner similar to corporate stock.
In order to qualify, a trust by at least 100 shareholders
and invest most of its capital in real estate loans or properties
and receive income from them. The special feature is that
such a trust reduces its own taxable income by a distribution
to shareholders with no tax deducted, but this is taxable
income in the hands of shareholders according to their own
tax status. To maintain the trust's right to gross distributions
these must, in aggregate, be equal to minimum of 90% of
the total trust income.
Refurbishment:
Improvement and modernisation of a building falling short
of rebuilding or redevelopment and thus not normally requiring
planning permission (other than for alterations to the external
appearance), except in the case of listed buildings.
Registration and mutation:
It is mandatory for the sale deed of all high value property
transactions to be registered at the regional sub registrar's
office of the local municipal authority. Thereafter, the
buyer has to apply for mutation, which involves a change
in the title records to incorporate the name of the buyer
of the property. In order to complete the transfer of property,
it is mandatory for the seller to furnish or arrange a valid
"certificate of completion" issued from the local
municipal authority to the buyer.
Renewal:
As distinct from repair, this is "reconstruction of
the entirely meaning not necessarily the whole subject matter"
Rent Act (s):
Legislation promulgated by various states in India, which
regulates the terms and conditions of the rental market
with a view to curb profiteering and hoarding. Though its
restrictive nature has not allowed owners to enjoy economic
returns from same categories of property, thereby allowing
market inefficiencies. Rent free period:
An agreed period, usually for several weeks or months, during
which a lessee is allowed to occupy the subject premises
without payment of rent:
-in consideration for the tenant incurring expenditure on
such matters as fitting out premises or carrying
out repairs or improvements;
-to reflect market conditions which favour tenant e.g. where
the space available for letting exceeds the
total tenant demand in that area; or
-by virtue of both a and b
Rentable area:
The area of floor space for which rent is calculated even
though other areas, within or outside the premise, are lawfully
used by the tenant. For example, in an office building it
is customary to exclude from the direct calculation of rent
the space used for corridors, atrium and stairways.
Rental advance:
Comprises a lump sum payment to the landlord at the beginning
of the lease term, which is thereafter adjusted in equal
installments over the lease term against the monthly base
rental payable by the tenant. The advance amount generally
ranges between 3 to 18 months depending on the city, type,
location of property and the period of the lease.
Root of title (UK):
In conveyancing of unregistered land, a document which forms
a solid basis to establish the title to the land. It must
go back, sufficiently for identification, showing a disposition
of the whole interest contracted to be sold and containing
nothing throwing any doubt on the title.
Sale
and leaseback:
An arrangement whereby a freeholder or lessee sells his
interest in a property for an agreed sum and takes back
a lease on the whole or part of the property from the purchaser,
generally either at a rack rent or at some lesser rent related
to the price paid.
Science park:
A development of an industrial nature suited to accommodate
high technology, with supporting amenities, which is associated
on site with or is close to a higher educational research
establishment to provide cross-fertilisation of ideas between
entrepreneurs and researchers for the purpose of enabling
academic knowledge to be applied to effective commercial
use.
Security deposit:
Comprises of an interest free lump sum payment to the landlord
at the commencement of the lease, which is refundable at
the end of the lease term. Though the deposit amount varies
depending on city, property type, location and the period
of the lease, it may range anywhere between 6 to 18 months
of monthly rental. It is not uncommon for some landlords
to provide a bank guarantee to the tenant as security for
the repayment of the initial deposit amount.
Serviced accommodation:
Suites of offices or rooms where the landlord provides a
range of services within the individual premises extending
beyond the traditional ones associated with the maintenance
and management of the building itself or the operation and
maintenance of the installation or plant therein e.g. furniture,
telephone, fax machine, room cleaning, and/or provides centralised
specialised services, such as a receptionist and secretarial
and communication facilities.
Shopping Mall:
A group of retail outlets designed and built with ways for
pedestrians on one or more levels to form a unified whole
under one roof.
Site Plans:
A drawing of an area of land, on a horizontal plane, showing
the boundaries and physical extent of the land included
in a particular parcel. It may also show any existing buildings
or the proposed layout of a development.
Speculator:
A person (usually a dealer) who undertakes a transaction
in property in expectation of asking a profit but with the
risk of not doing so.
Strata Title:
Freehold title to a horizontal titles above and/or below.
Satisfactory arrangements for management usually involve
a statutory obligation for the setting up of a management
corporation with responsibility for the maintenance of common
facilities and areas.
Sub Leasing:
A method wherein, the primary lessee of a property has the
right to further lease out a part or whole of the property
to another occupier or lessee. Essentially, the right to
sub lease is decided beforehand at the time of signing the
main lease agreement and is with the consent of both the
lessor and the lessee. Suspended ceiling:
A ceiling, not being part of the structural framework of
a building, installed below the level of the underside of
the floor above or of the roof. Commonly used to provide
space for services e.g. cables, recessed lighting and piping;
to reduce the cost of heating in a room; to improve the
acoustics; or to produce more aesthetically pleasing proportions.
Tax
clearance (37-1):
The Income Tax Act, 1961 specifies that any lease transaction
for not less than 12 years or any sale transaction, above
a prescribed transaction value limit tax, has to undergo
a clearance process from the appellate body known as the
Income Tax Appropriate Authority, constituted under the
Income Tax Act. A joint application by the parties involved
in the transaction is submitted along with processing fees
to the Income Tax Authority, which takes upto a maximum
of three months to grant the clearance, without which the
sale transaction is not complete. This procedure is popularly
known as the 37-(I) clearance, which is the application
form number used for this purpose.
Technology Park:
A landscaped development usually comprising of high specification
office space as well as residential and retail developments,
designed to encourage localisation of high technology companies
such as information technology, software development etc.,
thereby giving each the benefit of economies of scale. Usually,
technology parks are located outside the inner city areas
as these are quite land intensive in nature. Tenancy:
1. Strictly speaking, the interest of a person holding property
by any right or title.
2. More usually, an arrangement, whether by formal lease
or informal agreement, whereby formal lease or informal
agreement, whereby the owner (the landlord) allows another
(the tenant) to take exclusive possession of land in consideration
for rent, with or without a premium, either:
-for an agreed period of
-on a periodic basis until formally terminated Tenant's
improvements Improvements to land or buildings to meet the
needs of and carried out wholly or partly at the expense
of the tenant.
Town and country planning:
The determination of policy for the development and use
of land and the control of its implementations in urban
and rural areas by district and country planning authorities.
Turnover rent:
A rent, which is calculated as a proportion of the annual
turnover of the lessee's business. Usually, it does not
fall below a base rent. More commonly used in the USA, although
in recent years being applied with increasing frequency
in the Europe and the mature markets of Asia, especially
in the case of he more profitable retail outlets.
Uplifted
rent:
A rent which reflects lease terms which are more beneficial
to the tenant than prevailing commercial terms, e.g. a higher
rent to reflect, say, 14-yearly reviews, rather than the
more common five-yearly reviews.
Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA):
A legislation promulgated in 1976 as a social equity measure
with a view to curb profiteering and hoarding in the urban
land market as well as prevent urban congestion. Urban centers
i.e. cities were classified into categories such as A, B
and C and a ceiling on the maximum permissible usage on
land by respective owners was set under provisions of the
act.
User:
1. The use or enjoyment of a property or of a right over
property.
2. A person who uses, enjoys or has a right over a property.
Vaastu
shastra:
A traditional Indian architectures and design system, which
specifies the detailed methodology of designing buildings,
buying land etc. in order to maximise benefits from the
same for the occupier. This system relies in harmonising
any real estate development with the five elements of Indian
Mythology namely air, water, earth, fire and space.
Valuation:
1. The process of making an estimate of worth of real property
or real property or other assets for a particular purpose
e.g. letting, purchase, sale, audit, rating, compulsory
purchase or taxation. That purpose and the relevant circumstances
will determine assumptions and facts that are appropriate
and hence the process used. 2. A statement, usually in writing,
setting, out the facts, assumptions, calculations and resultant
value.
3. Colloquially, the value arrived at as a result of the
valuation process.
Value:
The price that might an interested in property or some other
asset might reasonably be expected to fetch if disposed
of at right.
Vertical slice participation:
A method of multi-participation in a venture, usually a
development, whereby each of the participants owns a separate
legal interest in the whole of the property concerned by
way of he freehold, head lease or a subordinate interest.
The documentation normally ensures that rental and other
income and /or capital receipts as well as the cost of any
revenue or capital liabilities are shared by the participants
in predetermined percentages related to their respective
contributions, whether financial or otherwise.
Warehouse:
Premises designed and built for the purpose of bulk storage
of raw materials or finished or partly finished goods, pending
either onward transit or division into smaller batches and
subsequent distribution. Willing seller-willing buyer:
An assumption sometimes made for valuation purposes that
the owner of the property concerned is willing to dispose
of his interest therein and that there is at least one genuine
purchaser in the market for that interest, whether or not
such is actually the case at the date of valuation.
Written-down value:
At a given time, the result of making one or more annual
of periodic deductions for depreciation against capital
cost or worth.
Xystus:
1. A covered colonnade, as originally used for exercise
by Greek athletes.
2. A garden walk, usually bordered by trees.
Yield
up:
Give up possession, especially by the tenant at the end
of a lease.
Zone:
A defined area of land or part of a building which is allocated
for a particular purpose, e.g. development plans may allocate
areas of land for different uses or values of property may
distinguish between areas of floorspace of a building and
ascribe different values to them.
Zoning:
In planning terms, the dividing of an area by a local planning
authority into zones for particular uses or activities.
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