Legal & Conveyancing
Solicitors and conveyancers in this category handle the legal side of owning, buying and selling listed and period property. Listed buildings carry obligations that ordinary conveyancing can miss: unauthorised past alterations remain the current owner’s problem, enforcement has no time limit for listed building consent breaches, and indemnity policies do not make an offence go away. Firms here advise on purchase and sale, retrospective consent, enforcement notices, disputes with neighbours or local authorities, VAT on approved alterations, and the covenants and rights of way common to older estates and rural property.
What this category covers
- Conveyancing for listed and period property purchases and sales
- Advice on unauthorised works and retrospective listed building consent
- Enforcement notices, appeals and prosecutions
- Boundary, covenant and rights-of-way disputes on older property
- VAT, tax and grant questions arising from approved alterations
Attwaters Solicitors
Attwaters Solicitors are planning solicitors providing specialist legal advice on listed buildings, ...
Gillespie Macandrew
Gillespie Macandrew is a Scottish law firm listed for legal services relating ...
Kingsley Napley LLP
Kingsley Napley is an independent London law firm with an international reputation ...
Legal points that catch out buyers of listed property
Ask specifically about past works. Listed building consent breaches are criminal offences that attach to the building, not the person who committed them, and there is no time limit on enforcement. A standard conveyancing search will not reveal whether the previous owner replaced windows or removed a chimney breast without consent, so the enquiry has to be raised deliberately.
Treat indemnity insurance carefully. It may cover financial loss if a council takes action, but it does not regularise the work, and applying for retrospective consent usually voids the policy. A solicitor used to listed property will explain that trade-off before exchange rather than after.
Check the extent of the listing. It covers the whole building including the interior, and usually attached structures and anything within the curtilage predating July 1948 – outbuildings, walls and gates included. Buyers regularly assume only the front elevation is protected.
Finally, ask about VAT and grants. Approved alterations to listed dwellings no longer attract zero-rating, but repairs to some buildings, particularly places of worship, may qualify for relief schemes; the position is worth checking before budgeting a project.
Questions to ask
Am I liable for unauthorised work done by a previous owner?
Yes, in practical terms. Listed building consent breaches attach to the building and the local authority can require the current owner to put matters right, with no time limit on enforcement. Raise the question specifically before exchange rather than relying on standard searches.
Does indemnity insurance solve a listed building consent breach?
No. It may cover financial loss if the council takes action, but the works remain unauthorised, and applying for retrospective consent normally invalidates the policy. It manages risk; it does not regularise the building.
What exactly does a listing cover?
The whole building inside and out, plus structures attached to it and, generally, buildings within its curtilage that pre-date 1 July 1948 – walls, gates and outbuildings among them. Listings rarely protect only the facade.
Directory information is provided to help visitors identify potentially relevant specialists and suppliers. Inclusion does not constitute a recommendation, approval or guarantee by Tuscan Foundry Products. Please check current services, credentials, availability and suitability directly with each business.