Skip to content
Recept Heritage

Buying a listed building

Buying a listed or historic home? Before you exchange, Peter Clarke reviews the list entry, the survey points, your photographs and what the seller has told you, then gives a written heritage opinion your solicitor can rely on: what the listing covers, whether past works may lack consent, and what that means for your purchase. Usually within 5 working days of receiving the survey extracts, or 2 with express.

£350

Express: £437.50 (25% on top).

Ask for a heritage opinion

Tell us what the survey raised and we'll confirm the price and timing. No payment yet.

Paste the survey points if you can. We will ask for photographs and anything from the seller when we reply.

We use your details only to reply and, if you go ahead, to do the work. See our privacy notice.

What's included

Included
  • A review of the survey points, photographs and anything the seller has provided
  • Checks of the list entry, its date and the planning history we can find
  • A written professional opinion your solicitor can rely on in deciding next steps
  • Brief general guidance on owning and maintaining a listed home
Not included
  • Legal advice, or advice on what to tell your lender (that stays with your solicitor)
  • Applications to regularise past works
  • A building survey or structural advice
How long
5 working days from receiving the survey extracts and photographs; express 2 working days
Who does the work
Every report is written by Peter Clarke, a heritage specialist with 40 years in real estate.

Need it sooner? Accelerated turnaround is available on every service for 25% on top, subject to capacity. Recept Heritage is not VAT-registered, so the price shown is the price you pay.

Buying a listed building is different from buying an ordinary house. The listing covers the whole building, inside and out, and often structures in its curtilage. Works that would be routine elsewhere can need listed building consent, and past works carried out without consent can pass to the new owner.

A short piece of heritage advice before you exchange can help you understand what you are taking on.

What we can look at

  • What the list entry says, and what it does not: older entries are often brief, but the listing still covers the whole building.
  • Alterations that look recent, and whether there is any record of consent for them.
  • The changes you are hoping to make, such as kitchens, bathrooms, windows, heating, extensions or outbuildings, and the heritage questions each one raises.
  • Whether you are likely to need a heritage statement for future applications, and roughly what it would cost.

A heritage opinion for your solicitor

When a survey raises questions about past works, a solicitor often needs reassurance before the purchase can go ahead. We review the survey points, photographs and what the seller has told you, check the list entry and planning history, and give a written professional opinion your solicitor can use to decide the next step. It is written to help the purchase move on, not to leave a list of unresolved questions.

The price and what is included are shown above. If you have a completion date, tell us when you ask and choose express.

Other questions before you buy

For a wider look at the building and your plans, start with a video advice session. Send us the sale particulars, the address and a note of what you are hoping to do, and we will talk it through with you. If you are a surveyor, solicitor or agent advising a buyer, you can also send us the project.

You can also check the building to find its list entry first.