Choose the report for the Charlton decision
Choose according to construction, alterations, condition and the purpose of your instruction.
- RICS Level 2 Home Survey — a conventional home in reasonable condition, without significant complexity.
- RICS Level 3 Building Survey — an older, altered, unusual or complex home needing a fuller investigation of condition.
- Specific defect investigation — a defined concern such as damp, cracking or water ingress.
- Pre-acquisition commercial building survey — condition and technical risk for a commercial purchase or lease.
Send the address, plans and your concerns so the proposed service, inspection limits and fee can be confirmed before instruction.
Charlton Village evidence: cottages and differently treated villas
Greenwich’s 2016 Charlton Village appraisal describes early- and mid-nineteenth-century houses ranging from cottages to larger villas, with stock brick and differing stucco treatments. Its Lansdowne Lane account also identifies asymmetric wings and paired houses with central pediments. These examples concern the village’s historic housing, with different arrangements and finishes even along nearby streets.
Use the actual building number and current plan to identify the purchased form. Request the chronology of wings, openings and external treatments relevant to it. The historical description supplies context without establishing current condition or the scope of present controls.
Charlton building stock and property types
Charlton’s stock runs from the historic village houses around Charlton House, through Victorian and Edwardian terraces on the slopes, to the low riverside ground.
The Georgian and Victorian houses of the historic village around Charlton House — the Grade I Jacobean mansion of 1607–1612 — and St Luke’s church, in the Charlton Village conservation area.
The solid-brick Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis on the slopes around Charlton Church Lane, Canberra Road and Hornfair Road, often with bays and rear additions.
Inter-war housing and larger houses on the higher ground, where roof, solid wall and any cellar all need a careful eye.
Period houses converted to flats, and the low, regenerating Charlton riverside ground toward the Thames — former industrial land where made ground and, on new stock, warranty rather than a Level 3 are the right checks.
Conservation areas, listed buildings and alteration risk
Charlton has two Greenwich conservation areas: the Charlton Village Conservation Area, designated in 1971 and extended since, protecting the historic village around Charlton House, St Luke’s church and Charlton Park, and the Charlton Riverside Conservation Area covering the low Thames-side ground. Being in a conservation area itself restricts some permitted development and requires consent for demolition and many works. Of the Article 4 directions Greenwich has made, it is the Rectory Field area, in Charlton, that carries one — the Charlton Village and Charlton Riverside conservation areas bring the standard conservation-area controls rather than a householder Article 4. For a Charlton cottage or villa, identify altered wings, stucco treatment and changed openings by project date. Request the available specification and relevant decision papers.
Confirm the particular Charlton building and works with Greenwich; give the solicitor any title, lease or covenant documents without assuming a common permission position across the area.
For a Charlton purchase, identify whether the accommodation is in a cottage, paired villa or later building, and locate its entrance and floors. Include the house number and any added wings. The village appraisal distinguishes nearby forms; it should help frame questions about this building’s own alteration history.
Draw an asymmetric wing beside the principal house
Where a Charlton home has a side wing, outline the wing and main range independently on the seller’s plan. Identify the doorway or opening connecting them and any accommodation above it. Ask which project introduced or changed that connection.
Keep a wing’s roof invoice with its own covering and rainwater outlet. If a reported movement concern is near the junction, locate it by room and outside face. Name the side boundary or neighbouring space needed for a view, so access can be discussed against the actual layout.
Match stucco treatment to the wall beneath the finish
For a Charlton house described as externally restored, ask which elevation and material the work covered. Request the specification or invoice distinguishing finish repairs from work to masonry, window openings or supports. Label patched or renewed areas on dated photographs where available.
Connect a reported stain to the relevant wall and room, keeping decoration separate from the investigation record. If the purchase is one flat, establish how the common elevation relates to its rooms. Identify the management contact for external access and the papers concerning that wall.
Identify each half of a pedimented pair
If a Lansdowne Lane enquiry concerns one half of a paired building, put its house number, entrance and roof faces on the drawing. Identify any common feature mentioned in a seller’s repair account. A central pediment’s appearance alone does not establish the ownership or condition of the surrounding roof.
Ask which half and component each maintenance document covers, and obtain the available alteration plans for the purchased rooms. For a conversion, mark the serving stair and communal spaces. Supply title or lease questions to the solicitor alongside the physical inspection brief.
Charlton building survey questions
What differences does the Charlton Village appraisal record?
It identifies cottages and larger villas with varying brick and stucco treatments, including asymmetric wings and paired houses. Current plans establish the purchased arrangement.
Which evidence helps with a changed side wing?
Locate its connection, supported accommodation and separate covering, then attach the relevant project drawings and repair dates. Identify access beside the wing.
Can exterior restoration describe work behind the stucco?
Request a specification naming the finish, wall and openings involved. Distinguish repainting from records for masonry or support changes.
What should an enquiry for one half of a villa pair show?
Mark the entrance and roof faces belonging to the purchase and any expressly shared feature. Relate repair documents to their own component and address.
Charlton Building Survey Quote & Fee Estimator (From £550 plus VAT)
Content updated: October 2026.
Other Charlton surveying services
Need a RICS survey quote in Charlton? We confirm a fixed fee after scoping. Call 020 7101 4590, email enquiries@hampsteadcharteredsurveyors.co.uk, or inspect our redacted RICS Level 3 sample reports. Sample reports.