What Does a Surveyor Check Before You Buy a House With an Open-Plan Ground Floor?
Open-plan ground floors now appear in roughly one in three UK homes listed for sale, yet fewer than half of buyers commission a survey that goes beyond a basic visual inspection. That gap matters, because behind a stylish kitchen-diner may sit an unlicensed beam, an under-supported padstone, or a damp problem masked by a new […]
How Expert Witness Surveyors Assess Loss of Property Value After Building Defects
A property can lose tens of thousands of pounds in market value because of building defects, yet the repair bill and the value loss are rarely the same figure. Courts and insurers need someone who can bridge that gap. Understanding how expert witness surveyors assess loss of property value after building defects matters whether you […]
Can a Surveyor Value a Property With an Unregistered Extension? Evidence, Assumptions and Risk
Roughly one in five UK homes sold each year has had some form of extension or alteration, and a significant proportion of those lack complete planning or building-regulation records. That gap in paperwork sits at the centre of one of the most common friction points between buyers, lenders and RICS surveyors: can a surveyor value […]
Party Wall Surveyor for Basement Works: Notices, Temporary Works, Excavation Risk and Neighbour Protection
Basement conversions in London and other dense UK cities now account for a significant share of planning applications, yet the party wall process for below-ground works remains one of the most misunderstood areas of property law. Engaging a party wall surveyor for basement works, notices, temporary works, excavation risk and neighbour protection is not optional: […]
September 2026 UK Property Market: Why a Small Asking-Price Rebound Does Not Remove Building Survey Risk
A 0.4% monthly uptick in advertised asking prices makes for a reassuring headline. It does not fix a cracked lintel, a failing damp-proof course, or a roof that has three years of useful life left in it. The September 2026 UK property market: why a small asking-price rebound does not remove building survey risk is […]
What Is a Schedule of Condition for a Residential Lease? Evidence, Photographs and End-of-Tenancy Disputes
Deposit disputes cost UK landlords and tenants millions of pounds each year, and the single most common reason adjudicators find against landlords is the absence of a properly prepared schedule of condition. A schedule of condition for a residential lease is a formal, contemporaneous record of the physical state of a property at the point […]
Earthquake and Ground-Movement Evidence in UK Property Surveys: What Counts as a Defect?
Fewer than 1 in 100 UK insurance claims each year relate to earthquake damage, yet ground movement of one kind or another contributes to thousands of surveying disputes annually. The gap between those two facts explains why earthquake and ground-movement evidence in UK property surveys: what counts as a defect? is a question that matters […]
Asbestos Survey or Building Survey in a UK Home: What Each Inspection Can and Cannot Tell You
Roughly half of all UK homes built before 2000 contain at least one asbestos-containing material (ACM), yet the majority of buyers who commission a RICS building survey assume that report will tell them whether asbestos is present. It will not. Understanding the difference between an asbestos survey and a building survey is one of the […]
Best Survey Before Buying a Period Home: Building Survey, Specialist Timber Report or Structural Investigation?
Around 20% of England's housing stock was built before 1919, according to the Office for National Statistics. That is roughly five million homes constructed using solid masonry walls, lime mortar, timber floors and roof structures that behave very differently from modern cavity-wall construction. Choosing the best survey before buying a period home, whether a Level […]
How Much Does a Structural Survey Cost in 2026?
How much does a structural survey cost? It depends which of two different products you mean — and the confusion between them costs buyers money every week. A “structural survey” usually means a full RICS Level 3 Building Survey (£600–£1,500), while a structural engineer’s report on a specific defect is a separate, narrower document (£400–£1,000). […]
