Listed buildings and conservation areas
Who deals with listing in Wales, and does a RICS survey replace Cadw?
Cadw explains listing in Wales, including grades under the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023. A RICS home survey does not list a building, does not grant consent, and does not replace Cadw or the local planning authority. If you apply an English Historic England habit to a Welsh list entry without reading it, you are guessing.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
The practical buyer’s questions are the same kind as in England: what is listed, what condition it is in, and what consent a repair or an alteration needs. The institutions differ. The survey describes damp, structure and roofs. Your solicitor checks the list and the consents. A Grade label on an agent’s website is not the entry. Cadw’s own explanation of grades is the one to read for a Welsh building, not a reprint of an English leaflet.
Condition defects do not wait for heritage paperwork. A leaking roof still lets water in. How you repair it may be constrained. Ask the surveyor which defects are urgent, and ask the council’s conservation officer which methods are likely to be acceptable. This page will not invent a Welsh fee for that conversation.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Are you reporting condition only, or have you relied on a list description?
- Which urgent defects would need a method of repair, not just a price?
- What should the solicitor confirm with the Welsh listing record?
What are the typical next steps?
- Confirm the list entry through your solicitor rather than the sales particulars.
- Separate urgent weatherproofing from alterations you would like to make.
- Do not import an English consent assumption. Ask in Wales.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Are Welsh grades the same numbers as England?
Cadw describes grades for Wales, including grades I, II* and II. Read the entry you are buying. Do not assume the controls match a conversation you had about a house in England.
Does a survey in a Welsh conservation area include consent advice?
No. Conservation area controls are a planning matter. The survey is the condition report.