In such situations, the estate agent may well suggest renovating the property – but with several rules and regulations governing property renovations, what do estate agents need to know to make sure they’re giving the right advice?

Building Regulations

Building Regulations are in place to ensure home safety following renovations or DIY projects. They are necessarily in-depth, covering everything from structure and fire safety to drainage and electrics. 

Relevant projects will require a Building Regulation inspection and approval before work can commence. As well as the local council, there are a number of private companies who offer the service. Homeowners should allow enough time for this and also budget up to £600 for submitting plans and the initial inspection.

Information about Building Regulations requirements can be found on the Government’s website.

Party Wall etc Act 1996

A party wall is defined as:

• A wall that stands on the lands of two (or more) owners and forms part of a building – this wall can be part of one building only or separate buildings belonging to different owners;

• A wall that stands on the lands of two owners but does not form part of a building, such as a garden wall but not including timber fences; or

• A wall that is on one owner’s land but is used by two (or more) owners to separate their buildings

The act was designed to encourage neighbours to communicate between each other if either of them wanted to carry out work that would impact the common wall. This could include building a new wall on or at the boundary of two properties, cutting into a party wall, altering the party wall (ie making it taller, shorter or deeper), removing chimney breasts from a party wall or knocking down and rebuilding the party wall. 

If work is mooted by a house hunter that involves a party wall, estate agents would be sensible to mention the requirements of the Act with regards to communication and obtaining the agreement of relevant neighbouring property owners.

Listed building consent

In England, there are over 374,000 listed buildings, which are of special architectural or historical interest. As well as castles and cathedrals, the list includes private houses. Some 92% of all listed buildings are Grade II, which is the most common grade for homes that are listed.

If a property is listed, then it will require ‘listed building consent’ for any building work – which could include minor jobs such as painting or simple repairs – as outlined in the Planning Act 1990. 

Failing to adhere to the act could prove very costly indeed; the homeowner could face a fine or up to 12 months in prison, and on top of this they might be made to fix the impact of the unauthorised work out of their own pocket. With so much at stake, it’s definitely worth estate agents mentioning this to house hunters if showing them around a listed building. 

Conservation areas

Areas that are of architectural or historical interest can be designated a conservation area by the local council, for example fishing and mining villages, 18th and 19th century suburbs or the centres of historic towns and cities. 

Properties in these areas face additional restrictions to the usual planning rules and homeowners may need permission from the local council to make alterations such as adding conservatories or extensions, laying paving or building walls, inserting windows, cladding, and installing satellite dishes and solar panels. 

If the house hunter is considering cutting down trees around their potential new property, they will need to speak to the council at least six weeks in advance of any work starting so it can assess the situation. If they feel the tree shouldn’t be cut down, the council could issue a Tree Preservation Order.

With these requirements in mind, it is worth advising house hunters that they will need to contact their local council before starting work on any changes to a property in a conservation area, as councils can change the guidelines relating to what alterations need permission at any time.

Exempt from rules

Generally speaking, if the house hunter will want to carry out structural work to the property then it will need building regulations approval. However, there are some projects that are exempt. In respect of properties that are neither listed nor in conservation areas, porches or car ports that are less than 30m² and detached sheds or greenhouses are unlikely to need any permissions 

Furthermore, conservatories that are less than 30m² and have at least 50% of the walls and 74% of the roof glazed with a translucent material and keep the existing wall, windows and doors that separate it from the main house are also exempt. 

While estate agents shouldn’t be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of building regulations and guidelines, it is important they have a working knowledge of the basic rules. Agents should explain to house hunters that major changes to a property – especially changes that will impact the building’s structure – could well trigger building regulations requirements, and potentially other local approvals. 

If the sale of a property relies heavily on the house hunter’s expectation that they will be able to make certain changes to it, they should be advised to seek professional guidance to ensure they would legally be able to carry out the desired work.  

*Joanna Norris is a Partner at Ratio Law, specialising in property, landlord and tenant law