There are in the region of 373,000 listed buildings in the UK and many are oozing with their own charm and quirky features. Although many people love the idea of living in a listed building, they’re sometimes put off by the thought of dealing with it (thanks to horror stories about people trying to do alterations and not being allowed to do the work) and the extra paperwork and implications involved. If you’re wondering about the reality of coping with a listed building, then here are the facts!

1. When a building is called listed it means it’s regarded as being of special historic or architectural interest and is on a national register. The listing protects the whole of the building – outside and inside, plus surrounding areas – and any owner has a duty to keep the building in good repair.

2. As an owner of a listed building, you have to contact the conservation officer at your local district council if you ever wish to alter, extend, change or demolish any part of your building in a way that might affect the character or setting. You need to gain Listed Building Consent from the council – similar to planning permission, but no fees involved – before you can start any work.

3. Alterations or changes that require Listed Building Consent include: changing the roofing material, removing internal walls, changing fireplaces or staircases, changing windows, painting over brickwork, putting up aerials or satellite dishes, and removing external surfaces.

4. It takes about eight weeks for the results of applications for Listed Building Consent to be considered and decided upon. If your proposal is turned down, you will have six months in which to make an appeal.

5. If you go ahead and alter a listed building without first gaining consent, then it is regarded as a criminal offence and you could be fined or even imprisoned. The council will also insist the property is returned to how it was.

6. If you’re buying a listed property, you need to ensure that any previous work carried out has been authorised. If it hasn’t, you could be held responsible – even though you had nothing to do with it – as you will inherit the problems.

7. In England and Wales, the authority for listing is granted by the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and administered by English Heritage. In Wales and Scotland there are different organisations involved, namely CADW in Wales and Historic Scotland in Scotland.

8. A limited number of grants are available from local conservation officers to help with repair and upkeep on listed buildings.

9. Statistics indicate that 92% of all listed buildings are grade II listed (of special interest), 5.5% are grade II* (particularly important buildings) and 2.5% are grade I listed (exceptionally important buildings). 38% of all listed buildings are used as domestic dwellings.

10. The older and rarer a building, the more likely it is to be listed. Properties built before 1700 and which have survived well, are very likely to be listed and any properties built before 1840 may well make the listed grade. It’s not just older properties though – some exceptional modern buildings built after 1945 are known to have listed status too. In addition to age, buildings that are of particular architectural interest or associated with key events or historical figures may have a listed status too.

To find listed property for sale, head over and search on Primelocation.com (typing ‘listed’ into the keyword search field).

One of the worst parts of moving house is tackling all the packing that needs to be done. But while your primary focus will be on what you need to pack, don’t forget to think about what you need to leave behind too.

You may well have already stated any main items you plan to leave behind when you put your house on the market, such as carpets or kitchen appliances, plus extra negotiations may have taken place with the buyers for additional items to be left, such as curtains or fittings. But apart from the fixtures and fittings, there are other items that need to be left behind for the new owners.

Keys are of course one of them (essential for getting in!), but it’s not just the door keys and any spare sets that should be left. If you’ve got locks on any windows in your home, you need to ensure these are left behind, and if you’ve got a side gate that locks, internal doors with locks or a garage, then keys for all these doors needs to left behind too. If you’re feeling really keen, you could also label them, as finding a bunch of random keys and not knowing what they belong to can be a tad confusing for new owners.

The other thing you should remember to leave behind is any instruction booklets for household appliances. If you’ve agreed to leave kitchen appliances, then this includes things like the cooker, fridge or washing machine. Also vitally important are instructions for the boiler, fire and any alarms that might be fitted.

These are very easily overlooked, but won’t be much use for you to take with you and could prove tricky for new owners to be without. In the case of gas fires, for example, a new rule brought in by British Gas in the last few years means that engineers are not allowed to service a gas fire unless they have an instruction leaflet. Home owners with relatively new gas fires may not find this a problem, as instruction leaflets can be obtained with a little research, but for those with older fires that are no longer manufactured, or produced by defunct companies, being stuck without any instructions means no service is possible, or at least not from British Gas.

Another handy piece of information to leave behind is your local council refuse guide (usually send out to you once a year) detailing when the refuse and recycling collections will be made each week – and, of course, the bins themselves!

Any other suggestions for things to leave behind? Or have you experienced some strange things left behind in your new home?

The Rat and Mouse lets us know that Wino’s back from St Lucia and ready to run riot in a new borough.

Jocelyn from Winging It is worried her new house has it in for her.

Ciara from Royals of Rent ponders dodgy letting agents.

Gareth from Winging It puts out a plea for everyone to help Kirstie Allsopp find her engagement ring, and we’d like to second that since we think Kirstie is so ace.

Mark from House 2.0 looks back on a quiet year for construction and discusses his beef with English Heritage.

We like reading property blogs. It distracts us from things that are less interesting. Tell us about yours, we’d love to take a look.

Thatched cottages are the Marmite of the property world – you either love them or hate them.

For some people, it’s the quintessential, chocolate-box image that makes thatched cottages so alluring. They’re a reminder of the traditional, old-fashioned roofing methods used in the UK and the properties themselves are often quaint and tucked away in rural villages. Of course, there are new build homes that have thatched roofs too – estimates suggest there are about 5% of new homes with thatch in the UK – and thatched buildings can occur in urban areas too (Shakespeare’s re-constructed Globe Theatre in London, for example).

On the other hand, for those who hate the idea of buying a thatched cottage some of the key reasons usually cited are the maintenance of thatch, the cost of having the thatch replaced (although a well produced thatched roof made of water reed could last for up to 60 years) and the fire risk issue. Sadly there are a handful of cases each year where thatched cottages do catch fire and the roofing material doesn’t help hinder the flames, but steps can be taken to reduce the risk of fires and non-thatched homes aren’t immune to fire either.

If the idea of thatch doesn’t scare you witless, then here are a selection of some delightful-looking thatched cottages, both old and new, currently on the market.

Devon
£550,000

This four-bedroom, Grade II listed cottage at Waddon features three reception rooms, gardens with streams, a paddock and a front porch and sits off a quiet country lane.

Dorset 
£435,000
A four bedroom, two reception room thatched cottage overlooking farmland in Winterbourne Kinsgston.

 
Cambridgeshire 
£499,995
Another grade II listed cottage, this one featuring three bedrooms, inglenook fireplace, dining room and three bathrooms, and situated in the village of Ailsworth.

 
Suffolk 
£940,000
A two-year-old, five-bedroom thatched farmhouse, plus two holiday homes, at Laxfield, near Woodbridge.

 
Yorkshire 
£375,000
A three-bedroom extended thatched cottage in Harrogate.

 
Warwickshire 
£775,000
Four bedroom thatched cottage that’s looks really old, but is only just over 20 years in age, in Barnacle, near Coventry. This property is really lovely, and features exposed brickwork, brick fireplaces and a timber framed conservatory.

If you’re interested in thatched cottages, take a look at our UK property search and enter the word ‘Thatch’ into the keyword field.

What are your thoughts on thatched cottages? Dream property or nightmare scenario?

Q. I rent a three-bedroom house with my partner and our family. Before we moved in, there used to be several students living there. Recently, I applied for a credit card which was refused. Could this have had anything to do with the previous tenants, one or several of whom could have attracted bad debt at the property address?

A. It makes no difference to your credit rating if the previous occupant of your home or any other family member has a credit problem, so long as you share no financial association with that person. Lenders and credit companies are solely concerned with your ability to repay. I therefore suggest that before you begin to make any more applications for credit, something which could damage your credit rating, you contact the credit card company and ask why they turned you down. They should tell you the reason/s as well as letting you know which one of the major three credit reference agencies they consulted for your application. From there, contact the agency and ask for a copy of your credit file – this should cost just £2. Any erroneous statements on your credit file can be corrected but you have to formally request this. For more information, see my guide to improving your credit rating.