What to check before buying a house: the complete UK checklist

The pre-offer checklist matters more than most buyers realise. The structural risks — legal title, planning, flood, lease, subsidence — are often visible before survey, if you know where to look. This guide is the comprehensive pre-offer due-diligence checklist for UK buyers.

1. The legal foundation

• Title. Is the property registered with Land Registry? Are there any restrictions, covenants, or charges? Your solicitor handles the official check, but the Land Registry website allows you to download the title for £3.
• Tenure. Freehold, leasehold, or share of freehold? On leasehold, lease length, ground rent, service charge.
• Rights of access. Who has rights over the property, and what rights does it have over neighbouring land?
• Covenants. Restrictions on alterations, use, or sale.

2. The planning history

• Local council planning portal. Search the property address. Look for permissions, refusals, and enforcement actions.
• Extensions and conversions. Each requires planning consent (or permitted development justification) and Building Control sign-off. Both should exist in the seller pack.
• Listed status. Check the Historic England database.
• Conservation area. Search the local council's online conservation register.

3. Flood and ground risk

• Environment Agency flood map. Free check at gov.uk. Look at both river flood zone and surface-water flood risk.
• Ground subsidence indicators. Look at adjacent properties for tell-tale cracks. Check the British Geological Survey's online soil-type map — clay soils have higher subsidence risk.
• Coal mining and historic mining. Free at coalauthority.gov.uk for England and Wales.
• Radon zone. Free check at ukradon.org.

4. The property itself: visual inspection

What to look at on viewings (every viewing, not just the final one):

Outside

• Roof condition: missing tiles, sagging ridge, vegetation growth.
• Chimney stack: leaning, broken pointing, missing pots.
• Brickwork: cracking patterns (vertical, diagonal, stepped), missing pointing, signs of damp.
• Windows: rot in frames, broken seals (misting between panes), original vs replacement.
• Gutters and downpipes: blockage, leaks, staining on walls.
• Damp course: should be visible roughly 15cm above ground level. Garden soil higher than damp course is a major red flag.
• Boundary walls and fencing: condition, ownership questions.

Inside

• Walls and ceilings: cracks, staining, damp patches, fresh paint hiding something.
• Floors: bouncy, sloping, gaps between floorboards and skirting.
• Doors and windows: square in their frames, opening cleanly.
• Bathrooms and kitchen: surface condition, signs of leak history.
• Loft: check insulation depth, signs of damp on rafters, daylight visible through tiles.
• Smell: musty (damp), gas (leak), drains (plumbing issue), pets/cigarettes (long-term).

Services

• Boiler: age, last service date, condition. Boilers over 12–15 years old are end-of-life.
• Electrical: consumer unit type, sockets, last electrical certificate.
• Water pressure: turn on a tap when toilet is flushing — pressure should hold up.
• Heating: feel radiators, ask about hot water cylinder.

5. The neighbourhood

• Visit at different times: morning rush hour, evening, weekend.
• Walk to nearest station, school, shops — time it.
• Check noise: traffic, neighbours, nearby business.
• Check parking: realistic availability, permit requirements.
• Local development plans: council's local plan and major planning applications.
• Crime statistics: police.uk has detailed maps.
• School catchments: relevant even if you don't have children (affects resale).

6. The asking price

• Land Registry sold prices for similar properties in the past 6–12 months. How to use Land Registry data.
• Price per square metre / square foot vs comparable properties.
• Time on market. Stale listings often indicate price issues.
• Asking price reduction history (visible on Rightmove and Zoopla).
• EPC rating impact on running costs and future value.

7. The seller

• Reason for sale: probate, downsizing, divorce, relocation. Affects flexibility.
• Onward purchase: are they buying somewhere, renting, or moving abroad?
• Length of ownership: short ownership can indicate something is wrong; long ownership often indicates the seller is psychologically anchored to a higher price.
• How motivated. Multiple price reductions or long time on market suggest pressure.

8. The buyer's own checks

• Mortgage agreement in principle.
• Deposit funds liquid and visible.
• Solicitor identified and instructed.
• Survey commissioned to appropriate level.
• Insurance research (building insurance from exchange, contents from completion).
• Removal company sourced.

What an OfferHound report adds

The OfferHound report at £9.99 takes the property URL and brings together: Land Registry comparables, EPC rating, flood and ground-water risk, lease term, school catchments, transport scoring, crime data, and a fair-value range. It is designed to be the document you read alongside this checklist when you have an actual property in mind.

Frequently asked questions