Land Registry
A government department which keeps and updates records of property ownership.
Land Registry fee
A fee paid to the Land Registry by a borrower to record changes in its records of ownership of the property. An endowment where the premiums paid at the start are reduced but where later premiums are increased to compensate. See Endowment.
Landlord's reference
Confirmation given by a previous landlord stating the history of the payment of rent and of previous conduct as a tenant.
Large town allowance
An additional payment made on top of basic salary to an employee working in a large town to cover the additional costs of living and working there. It is usually taken into account by mortgage lenders when calculating the amount that can be borrowed.
Leasehold (England and Wales only)
A common type of land ownership where the land or property is owned by someone else (the Freeholder) but is leased to the occupier for a fixed period of time, usually for an annual (ground) rent.
Legal (mortgage) charge
Usually known as a Legal Charge. When a mortgage is taken out, the bank or building society register an interest in the property by taking a legal charge over it. You will manually have to pay a fee to your solicitor to cover this, typically about £100.
Lender
The organisation, usually a bank or a Building Society providing the mortgage.
Libor
The London Interbank Offered Rate. The interest rate at which banks buy and sell money from each other and which usually changes every day. You can fix your mortgage to LIBOR. See 'Tracker Mortgages' in our 'Mortgages Explained' section for a detailed explanation.
Life assurance
An assurance policy which pays a lump sum in the event of the policy holder dying.
Life company
A company issuing life assurance, authorised and supervised by various Government departments.
Loan consolidation
See Debt Consolidation.
Loan to value (LTV)
The proportion of the value of a property the lender is willing to lend, typically 70-90%.
Local Authority Search
An activity carried out by the purchaser's solicitor to establish the status of the property and whether there are any matters such town planning or road building schemes or enforcement notices which affect it.
Local Authority Search fee
The fee payable to the Local Authority for the Local Authority Search.
Low cost endowment
See Endowment
Low start endowment
An endowment where the premiums paid at the start are reduced but where later premiums are increased to compensate. See Endowment.