letting

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountableBritish

   The act or business of renting a property to a tenant for payment.

   Grammar: Uncountable for the business: she works in letting; countable for one rental: a short letting.

   Patterns

   • letting of something
   • in lettings

   She works in letting and shows flats to new tenants every day.

   The letting of the cottage brings them a steady monthly income.

   The council has strict rules on the letting of rooms in family homes.

2. 2nouncountableBritish

   A property that is rented out, or a period of renting it.

   Grammar: Countable, often with 'holiday' or 'short': a holiday letting.

   Patterns

   • a short letting
   • a holiday letting

   The couple booked a holiday letting by the sea for two weeks.

   This is a long letting, so the agreement runs for three years.

   The agency lists hundreds of lettings across the city.

Word forms

Common combinations

letting agent

The letting agent sent the keys by post.

holiday letting

We found a holiday letting in the mountains.

short-term letting

Short-term letting is limited in the town center.

letting fee

The letting fee was due before we moved in.

letting business

Their letting business manages forty flats.

Synonyms and how they differ

rental

Rental is the usual American word and covers the same idea, while letting is mostly heard in British English.

leasing

Leasing suggests a formal, usually longer contract and is also used for cars and equipment, unlike letting.

renting

Renting can be done by either side and is everyday speech, whereas letting is from the owner's point of view.

Opposites

Word family

let verb

to allow someone to rent a property

landlord noun

a person who lets property to tenants

lettable adjective

able to be rented out

sublet verb

to let a rented property to another person

Commonly confused: letting or leasing?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “letting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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