Listed building survey vs a property report

What listing means for a buyer

Section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, which applies in England and Wales, is short and strict: no one may carry out works for the demolition of a listed building, “or for its alteration or extension in any manner which would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest,” unless the works are authorised. Scotland has its own listed buildings legislation. The test is the effect on the building's character, so it is not confined to the outside.

Section 9 makes contravening section 7 an offence, punishable on indictment by up to two years' imprisonment, a fine or both. Section 38 lets the planning authority issue a listed building enforcement notice requiring the building to be restored, and a copy is served on the owner and the occupier. The section sets no time limit for issuing it. Put together, that is the point every buyer of a listed home needs to grasp: unauthorised work by a previous owner can become your problem.

The consent check

Before you exchange, list every alteration you can see or the seller describes (new windows, removed walls, a modern kitchen or bathroom in an old room, an extension, a loft conversion) and ask for the listed building consent behind each one. Your conveyancer's local search will show listed status and planning history held by the council, and listed buildings are registered as local land charges, but matching the consents to the work on the ground is something you and your surveyor have to do. Where consent cannot be shown, take advice before you commit; the cost of reversing unauthorised work on a listed building can be substantial.

Choosing the survey

A listed building is exactly the kind of property a RICS Level 3 survey is for: older, often altered and built with traditional materials. RICS also runs a Building Conservation Accreditation Scheme, established in 1992 “to provide a recognised qualification for individuals specialising in conservation of scheduled monuments, listed and historic buildings or sites.” A surveyor with that background should recognise traditional construction and inappropriate past repairs, and advise within the constraints listing imposes. Our report-vs-survey guide explains the survey levels.

Where a property report fits

A pre-offer property report does not inspect the building and does not establish whether past work had consent. What it does before you offer is confirm the designations at the address and screen the risks around it. £24.99 Complete includes heritage and planning designations (whether the address is listed and whether it sits in a conservation area) for English and Scottish properties. Conservation areas and listed buildings. These come from planning.data.gov.uk, which collects from English authorities only. Welsh designations sit with Cadw. Both tiers screen flood risk, ground stability, radon and coal mining for the address, which matter as much for an old building as a new one. It is the first check, not the last.