Why buyers order one
A house is often priced for the extension you imagine on it. If the rules would stop you, the price is wrong. For £215 we read the address, test your idea against the rules that apply there and write up what is allowed, what would need an application and what is unlikely to succeed.
You can order it before you make an offer or between offer and exchange. If you go on to instruct us for drawings, the report fee comes off ours.
What the report tells you
First, the designations: listing, conservation area and Article 4. Westminster has 4,015 heritage-list entries inside its boundary and Camden 1,971, so the question is a live one in central London.
Second, what rights are left. A flat has none of the householder permitted development rights, and a house in a conservation area loses the side extension and cladding rights. If your plan depends on either, you need to know before you buy.
What the previous owner may have done
Unauthorised work is the buyer's problem. A council can act against most building work without permission for ten years after it is finished, a period lengthened in April 2024. A loft or an extension built without permission can therefore stay a live issue for a decade.
The report compares what is on the council's planning record with what we can see of the house, and tells you what to ask the seller's solicitor. It does not replace the solicitor, but it gives them the right question.
What it does not do
It is not a survey of the building's condition, and it is not a promise that permission will be granted. Only the council decides that. What it does is turn the plan in your head into a list of what is allowed, what is conditional and what is doubtful.
If the answer is good, our planning drawings follow, and the cost comes off. If the answer is poor, you have saved far more than the report cost. Read about the service on our pre-purchase planning report page.
How to order
Send the address, your asking price range and the work you hope to do. We confirm the fee in writing, and tell you when to expect the report before you pay.
The figures, with sources
10 years
Period during which a council can act against most unauthorised building work after it is finished.
Source: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 171B, checked 17 Oct 2026
Art. 2(1)
Flats and buildings containing flats cannot use the householder permitted development rights.
Source: General Permitted Development Order 2015, article 2, checked 15 Oct 2026
Class A.2
A conservation-area house loses the permitted side extension and cladding rights.
Source: General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1, checked 15 Oct 2026
£548
Council fee for a householder application on one dwelling, from 1 April 2026.
Source: Ribble Valley Borough Council, national fee table from 1 April 2026, checked 17 Oct 2026
4,015
Heritage-list entries inside the boundary of the City of Westminster.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk, listed buildings dataset, checked 17 Oct 2026
1,971
Heritage-list entries inside the London Borough of Camden.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk, listed buildings dataset, checked 17 Oct 2026
Questions
Can I order it before I have an offer accepted?
Yes, and many buyers do. The report is about the address, so it is useful at any stage before exchange.
Does it include a survey of the house?
No. It is a planning report. A measured survey comes with our drawings, and a condition survey is a separate profession.
Will you promise I can get the permission?
No. Only the council grants permission. The report tells you what the rules allow and where the risk is.
What if I do not buy the house?
The report is yours to keep whether or not you buy, and it costs little against a mistaken purchase.
The fee for pre-purchase planning report
What you get
- Listing, conservation area and Article 4 status
- Your extension idea tested against the rules
- A reading of the planning history of the address
- Questions to put to the seller's solicitor
- The fee credited against drawings if you go on
