Georgian and Regency
Moving out of a listed or stucco-fronted house
Where what you may not do matters more than what you can.
The white stucco terraces and Georgian squares of Belgravia, Notting Hill, Bloomsbury, Islington and Camberwell are among the most photographed buildings in London and among the most constrained to move out of.
Most are listed, and nearly all sit within a conservation area. That changes the job in a specific way: it is not about what the building can physically accommodate, but about what you are legally permitted to do to it in order to get something through.
A firm that does not understand that distinction will offer to take a window out. On a listed building that is not a favour — it is potentially an offence.
What listing actually restricts
Listing covers the whole building, inside and out, not just the facade. Original joinery, staircases, balusters, doors, door cases, cornices and shutters are all part of the listing, and removing or altering any of them without consent is a criminal offence rather than a civil one.
So we do not take out sashes, remove door heads, or unscrew balusters to make something fit. Where an item will not go, we say so at the survey and you decide what to do about it. Occasionally the answer is a specialist with a hoist and the appropriate consents; more often it is that the item stays or is sold.
Stucco marks and chips easily, and it is expensive and slow to repair correctly. Door reveals, thresholds, railings and the steps up to the front door all get protected before anything moves.
These houses are also tall — frequently five or six floors including basement and attic — with the principal rooms on the first floor. The volume is substantial and the vertical distance is the real work.
Other kinds of building
Next step
Moving out of one of these?
Send us the address, the floor, and a photograph of the staircase or the lift. We will tell you what the building allows before we talk about anything else.