Whether you have questions about a property survey, party wall, or valuation, our resource centre has detailed information so you can get the answers you need all in one place.
Only 54,900 mortgages were approved for house purchase in August 2026, the lowest figure since December 2023. That single Bank of England number, paired with
Three-point-one to three-point-five in a single month. That jump in the UK's CPI figure, published on 21 October 2026, was enough to tip markets, economists
Nine months of 2026 are behind us, and the headline number everyone quotes, 0.9% annual growth, hides a country moving in two directions at once.
Last updated: October 20, 2026 Quick Answer Renters' Rights Act rents in October 2026 are climbing because landlords are pricing in higher legal and compliance
A market can grow and shrink at the same time. That is exactly what happened at UK property auctions in September, where auctioneers put more
One in ten private rented homes in England has a category 1 hazard serious enough to pose a real risk to health, according to figures
Eleven days. That is all the time landlords have between today and a Budget that could reshape property taxation, followed six weeks later by the
In the North West of England, rents on flats and maisonettes have climbed 55.2% over the past decade. Prices in the same region rose by
Six months. That is how long a property might soon need to sit empty before a council can start the process of taking over its
A flat that rises in value by roughly 2% a year, before you even account for inflation, service charges or exit fees, is not really
A £500 survey fee. A report that never arrived. An £800 compensation award that went unpaid for so long that the regulator pulled the firm's
Lenders are not waiting until 5 November. By the time the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee sits down for its next decision, most mortgage
Just 2,876 homes began construction in London during the whole of April to June 2026. The government's own target is 22,000 a quarter. That gap,
A quarter of all homes that hit the UK market in September had already tried and failed to sell at some point in the past
With SSTC volumes down approximately 8% year-on-year and completion delays persisting across England and Wales, sellers who commission pre-listing surveys before going to market are
A year of steady house price gains just lost half its momentum in a single month. Nationwide's latest index, published on 1 October 2026, shows
A tenant reports a damp patch on a bedroom wall. Under the old system, a landlord might have weeks to respond, with no fixed clock
Eight and a half billion pounds. That is what HMRC collected in inheritance tax during 2025-26, up from £8.3 billion the year before, and the
A single sentence posted on social media on 1 October 2026 has reignited England's leasehold debate. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said leaseholders are being "routinely
A single unregistered app could cost a landlord £10,000. From 1 October 2026, that is the sharp reality facing anyone in England who checks a
Fifty years ago, a property crash so severe it wiped out confidence in British real estate forced two professional bodies into an unusual alliance. The
Four thousand pounds. That is the saving the Government says some leaseholders could pocket once its ground rent cap becomes law, if it ever does.
A lease with 79 years left sounds safe. It is not. Once a lease drops below 80 years, marriage value kicks in, premiums jump, and
Fewer than 15% of registered titles in England and Wales carry a determined boundary, the rest rely on the general boundary rule, which means the
Fewer than one in ten residential transactions in some UK postcodes generate enough recent, genuinely similar sales to give a surveyor a clean set of
A residential property that has been converted to an HMO, office or retail unit does not simply carry its old value forward. The moment its
Five hundred and five rental homes are vanishing from the UK's private rented sector every single day in 2026. That figure, from TwentyEA and Allsop
Twenty-one days. That is all that remains before one of the most consequential leasehold reform consultations in a decade slams shut, and yet most flat
Last updated: September 28, 2026 Quick Answer Section 21 no-fault evictions ended across England, including London, on 1 May 2026, when the Renters' Rights Act
Last updated: September 27, 2026 Thirty-one days. That's how long London homebuyers have to guess whether Rachel Reeves will finally tear up stamp duty on
Last updated: September 26, 2026 Quick Answer Headline market reports point to a third straight monthly rise in UK house prices heading into September 2026,
Last updated: September 25, 2026 Quick Answer The government has confirmed plans for a High Value Council Tax Surcharge, widely dubbed a "mansion tax," targeting
Last updated: September 17, 2026 Quick Answer Grey belt is now a formal NPPF planning category, and August 2026 reforms have opened thousands of acres
Nearly one in five UK homes has a damp or mould problem serious enough to affect the health of its occupants [2]. Yet thousands of
Nearly one in three UK homebuyers who skip a professional building survey later discover defects that cost more than £5,000 to repair, yet a significant
Roughly one in three party wall awards issued under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 now faces some form of challenge, ranging from informal objections
Nearly one in three UK property transactions still collapses before completion, often because buyers discover serious defects or valuation gaps too late in the process.
Roughly one in five UK homes has a damp or mould problem serious enough to affect occupant health, yet fewer than half of buyers commission
Only 34% of UK homeowners who experienced significant problems with their home extensions had a professional contract administrator overseeing the works, yet those who did
Domestic subsidence insurance claims in the UK reached £153 million in the first half of 2026 alone, supporting close to 9,000 households with average payouts
Nearly one in three neighbour disputes in England and Wales involves construction work on or near a shared boundary, and the majority of those conflicts
Fifty-six percent of damp and mould complaints analysed by the Housing Ombudsman resulted in findings of maladministration, a figure that rose to 64% for complaint
Nearly one in five UK homes showed signs of damp in the English Housing Survey 2024-25, yet the most common response from homeowners remains to
Roughly 4.98 million leasehold flats exist in England alone, yet the majority of their owners have never seen the calculation behind the premium they are
More than 5.7 million homes in England and Wales were built before 1919, the vast majority of them either Georgian or Victorian, and a significant
Nearly one in five UK homebuyers who commission a property survey later discover defects their report failed to flag, defects that cost thousands of pounds
Nearly one in five UK property transactions that fall through do so because a survey reveals defects the buyer was not prepared for, yet research
Fewer than one in ten property disputes that reach the courts are resolved without some form of expert surveyor evidence, yet the standards governing how
Fewer than one in three UK homebuyers commission a full building survey before exchanging contracts, yet the average cost of post-purchase structural repairs discovered later
A 2026 study of UK property transactions found that estate agents overvalued properties by an average of 5-10% compared to the eventual agreed sale price,
Party wall disputes in the UK surged by approximately 40% in 2026, with the vast majority of cases concentrated in terraced streets and semi-detached housing
Nearly two-thirds of UK homebuyers admit they do not fully understand how a surveyor arrives at a property valuation figure, yet that single number can
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Nearly one in five UK homebuyers who skip a professional survey later discover defects that cost more than £5,000 to repair, and a significant number
Only one in five UK homebuyers commissions a full building survey before exchanging contracts, yet the average cost of unexpected structural repairs discovered after purchase
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: In most cases, both neighbouring property owners share joint ownership of a party wall. Each owner has equal
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: In England and Wales, who is responsible for boundary fences is determined primarily by your title deeds or
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: To check whether your surveyor is qualified, visit the RICS Find a Member directory at rics.org and search
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A homebuyers survey (formally called a Level 2 Home Survey) is a professional inspection of a property's condition,
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Fixing rising damp requires identifying and repairing the root cause, whether that is a failed damp proof course,
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A Level 2 survey in the UK typically costs between £400 and £1,000 in 2026, depending on property
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Yes, a snagging survey is worth it for the vast majority of new-build buyers. Independent research and surveyor
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer No, a house survey is not legally required in the UK, but skipping one is a financial risk
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: In 2026, a surveyor cost in the UK typically ranges from around £300 for a basic RICS HomeBuyer
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: To win a boundary dispute in the UK, you need a stronger evidence base than your neighbour. The
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Whether you need a party wall surveyor depends on the type of work you're planning and how close
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: To find the boundary of your property, start with your Land Registry title plan and property deeds, then
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Yes, there is a time limit on boundary disputes in the UK, but it is not a single
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: You need a party wall agreement when planned building work affects a shared wall, boundary, or nearby foundation
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A party wall agreement (formally called a party wall award) does not have a permanent lifespan, but it
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: An expert witness surveyor is a qualified chartered surveyor appointed to give independent, impartial opinion evidence in legal
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A surveyor checks the structural condition, fabric, and key elements of a property, including the roof, walls, foundations,
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: In the UK, the buyer organises and pays for the house survey when buying a house. It is
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A land survey in the UK typically costs between £400 and £3,000+, depending on the survey type, site
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: No, a mortgage valuation is not the same as a survey. A mortgage valuation is a brief check
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: The Evergreen Party Wall Act Toolkit for Surveyors covers every stage of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: RICS valuation red flags are specific warning signs in a chartered surveyor's property assessment that suggest a figure
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: The Renters' Rights Act 2025 creates the legal framework for extending the Decent Homes Standard to all private
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A party wall award is a legally binding document prepared under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 that
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Party wall surveyor fees in 2026 typically range from £900 to £2,700 per appointment for straightforward domestic projects,
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, UK homeowners must serve written party wall notices on adjoining owners
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A party wall agreement is a legal process under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 that protects both
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Big data analytics for predictive valuation adjustments uses machine learning models and large property datasets to forecast how
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Expert witness preparation for geopolitical risk valuation disputes requires a RICS-qualified surveyor to produce an independent, court-compliant report
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: A schedule of dilapidations is a structured legal document that records alleged breaches of lease repair covenants, and
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Expert witness roles in PRS Ombudsman disputes require a qualified, impartial professional, typically a RICS-accredited chartered surveyor, to
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: As buyer enquiries rise across UK property markets in 2026, valuation disputes are becoming more common and more
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Expert witness testimonies in post-budget property disputes provide courts and tribunals with independent, professionally reasoned valuations that account
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: In 2026, the UK's North-South property price divide has widened sharply, with northern regions posting annual growth of
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: In Right to Buy disputes, an expert witness is an independent chartered surveyor appointed to provide impartial valuation
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: The evergreen RICS guidance on shorter transaction times sets out best-practice principles for managing party wall procedures efficiently,
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Restrictive covenants are legally binding obligations attached to land that limit how a property can be used or
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Big data analytics in expert witness reports uses large-scale property datasets and statistical models to predict market values,
Last updated: July 24, 2026 Quick Answer: Access problems in party wall and boundary surveys are more common than most property owners expect, but they
