Glossary
Property Manager Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential property manager terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key property manager vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in property manager training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- CapEx
- Capital expenditures for major improvements.
- Concession
- A discount offered to attract residents.
- Delinquency
- Late or unpaid rent.
- Eviction
- A legal process to remove a resident.
- Fair Housing Act
- A federal law banning housing discrimination.
- HOA
- Homeowners association.
- Lease
- The rental contract.
- Make-ready
- Preparing a unit for a new resident.
- NOI
- Net operating income.
- Notice to vacate
- A resident’s notice of moving out.
- Occupancy rate
- The percentage of units leased.
- Renewal
- Extending a resident’s lease.
- Rent roll
- A list of units, residents and rents.
- Security deposit
- Money held to cover damages.
- Work order
- A maintenance request.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Property Manager practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Property Manager training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.