LISTED BUILDINGS: WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING

Living in historic places like Bath, Cambridge or even smaller villages and towns such as Tetbury or Laycock is the dream for some. Other than the allure of their cultural riches or natural surrounds, there are streets lined with beautiful homes. Buying or selling architecturally significant houses, however, comes with its challenges.

Listed buildings, i.e. properties considered to have special, historic or architectural features worth preserving, are a prime example. Whether you agree with the principle of listed buildings as a way of maintaining our historic buildings, or consider it restrictive, over the top or preventing practical alterations – most will agree that the rules are a bit ambiguous.

For starters, whether works on a listed building need consent in the first place can be subjective. Officially, consent is required where the ‘historical character’ of the building would be affected. Sellers and buyers have found themselves at loggerheads trying to establish whether prior works should have had consent. If you’re considering making changes to your home, the safest option is to discuss your plans with either the council’s listed buildings team or a local planning consultant or architect – and keep all correspondence for the future.

The risk for anyone buying a listed property which has had unconsented works on it is that the council could ask the property to be returned to its original state – at any point in time – and even if you’re not the owner that undertook the works. So it’s important when buying a listed building that you’re content with any prior works – and permissions given (or not given) for those.

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