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UK House Buyers Glossary - D

This page of our online a to z glossary is for UK house buyers terms beginning with the letter 'D'.

• Damp Proofing - the treatment of a surface to prevent water seeping through.
• Distemper - a traditional water-based coloured paint with a matt finish made from powdered chalk, glue and water. Most modern paints will not adhere to a distempered surface. Distemper is no longer manufactured so you are only likely to see it in older properties.
• Defects - any known structural problems with a property that may affect its value.
• Discount period - the period of reduced payments at the start of a mortgage.
• Disbursements - these are expenses such as local searches and land registry fees which have been incurred by a solicitor acting on your behalf during conveyancing.
• Dormer - a window that projects from a sloping roof and has vertical sides and front.
• Downpipe - the pipe which carries rainwater from the roof gutters to the ground.
• Draft contract - the legal document that sets out the terms of a property sale. The draft contract is used as a starting point for the negotiations between solicitors dealing with a property transaction.
• Dry Rot - timber decay due to attack by a type of fungi.
• Dry Wall - a wall surface of plasterboard or material other than plaster.