House surveys in London

London's housing is dominated by Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many now split into flats, alongside Georgian squares in the centre, interwar Metroland suburbs on the edges, large post-war council estates and a fast-growing stock of new-build apartment towers. Most of the capital sits on London Clay, which shrinks and swells with the seasons, so subsidence and heave linked to trees are among the most common issues surveyors report. Thames gravels near the river, chalk on the southern and south-eastern fringes and the Thames flood plain add further local variation.

For surveys, that means leasehold matters as much as structure: lease length, service charges, cladding and EWS1 forms, and whether conversions and loft or basement extensions were properly approved. Conservation areas and listed buildings are widespread, and party wall history is important on terraced streets. A Level 2 survey suits most modernised flats and interwar houses, while older, altered or unmodernised period homes usually justify a Level 3 Building Survey.