Listed buildings and conservation areas

What is the difference between listed building consent and planning permission?

Planning permission is about development. Listed building consent is about works to a listed building that affect its character, which can include works that would not need planning permission at all. You can need one, the other, both, or neither. A home survey does not apply for either, and it does not tell you which box your future kitchen sits in.

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?

Historic England’s explanation of listing is about why the building is on the list and what the entry covers. The local planning authority decides applications. A surveyor who says a wing looks like a later addition is giving you a condition and construction comment. Your solicitor asks whether that wing was consented. Absence of paper in the seller’s pack is not proof the work was unlawful, and a consent is not proof the work matches what was built.

If you are buying because you want to open a wall or replace windows, ask the council before you exchange if that plan is the reason for the purchase. The survey can say whether the wall looks structural. It cannot say the opening will be consented. Do not agree a price that assumes a consented plan you have not checked.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Which alterations look recent, and which look original, from what you could see?
Are you commenting on structure, on consent, or only on condition?
What should we ask the solicitor to look for in the paperwork?

What are the typical next steps?

Ask the solicitor for planning and listed-building papers for the alterations you can see.
If your own plans need consent, speak to the council before you rely on the survey.
Do not start opening-up “to see the structure” in a listed house without consent advice.

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

Does a completion certificate replace listed building consent?

No. Building regulations and listed building consent are different regimes. A house can have one and not the other.

If the work is old enough, can you stop worrying?

Age does not grant consent. Ask the solicitor how they want to treat historic alterations. The survey will not insure that risk.