Historic building conservation

Published September 2009
Effective from 1 October 2009

This guidance note should be used by any RICS member practising or working on old and traditionally constructed building or structures. One in five buildings in the UK date from before 1914, meaning that surveyors of all disciplines are likely to encounter such buildings at some stage in their career.

General guidance does not cover all situations and the practitioner's skill will lie in tailoring his or her knowledge to suit each case. The diverse nature of historic buildings and the owner and user's interests in them means that surveyors working in this field, however briefly, require a rounded understanding of the whole subject before any truly successful solution can be identified. The section on the philosophy of historic building conservation is intended to help equip the competent surveyor to balance apparently conflicting demands in the best interests of owners and the wider community.