Houses at Happisburgh have already gone over the cliff, and a Norfolk property solicitor is as likely to be asked about erosion, flood risk and the life of a sea wall as about the boiler. Conveyancing on the coast and the Broads has its own checklist: coastal change management areas that limit what can be built or rebuilt, flood searches, planning rules set by the Broads Authority, septic tanks and private water supplies, and the council tax premiums several Norfolk councils now charge on second homes. Holiday lets add business rates, planning use and, for sellers, the question of whether the bookings go with the house.
In Norwich itself the work is more conventional but not simple. The Golden Triangle and the terraces off the Dereham, Earlham and Unthank Roads are a market of first-time buyers and landlords, with houses in multiple occupation for students needing licences from the city council. The medieval centre is dense with listed buildings, where alterations made without consent surface at sale. New estates north-east of the city, around Sprowston and Rackheath, come with estate charges and management companies that new-build buyers should have explained. Leasehold flats by the river and in converted shoe factories need the usual checks on lease length and service charges.
Rural Norfolk means farms, estates and agricultural tenancies, option and promotion agreements over land earmarked for housing, solar and wind leases, and rights of way across fields that neighbours have argued over for generations. Landlord and tenant work has grown as the Renters' Rights Act changes how tenancies end, and possession and deposit claims are heard at the county court in Norwich.
Conveyancing fees are fixed almost everywhere; ask for a quote that itemises searches, Land Registry fees and stamp duty.
Property solicitors serving Norwich are listed below, verified firms first. See what conveyancing involves, what property law covers, landlord and tenant law and neighbour disputes, or the general guide to property solicitors.
