Should you buy a property near pylons?

With the UK's electricity infrastructure expanding to meet net zero targets, more properties than ever are being affected by overhead cables, pylons and substations. For buyers, the key questions are what the practical implications are, how proximity to electrical infrastructure affects a property's value and saleability, and what due diligence is worth doing before you proceed.

Properties near pylons or overhead power lines typically sell at a discount compared to equivalent properties without them. The impact on value varies depending on how close the pylons are, how visible they are from the property and whether they are likely to affect the buyer's enjoyment of the property or garden.

Mortgage lenders will not necessarily refuse to lend on properties near pylons, but some lenders apply restrictions depending on proximity. It is worth checking with your mortgage broker early in the process if pylons are a feature of the property you are considering.

When buying a property near electrical infrastructure, your conveyancing solicitor will carry out searches that can identify future infrastructure projects including additional pylons, substations and new cable routes, access requirements over your land, rights of way for maintenance and upgrades and planned network expansions in the area.

These searches look at public records and legal rights. They will not tell you about the physical condition of the property or give you a view on how the infrastructure affects the value of what you are buying.

Research into the health effects of living near high-voltage power lines has produced mixed findings over the years. There is no conclusive scientific evidence of significant health risk from living near pylons at normal residential distances, though the topic continues to be studied.

Substations and transformers can generate a low-level hum that some residents find intrusive, particularly at night. If the property is close to a substation, it is worth visiting at different times of day to assess noise levels.

A property survey does not assess electromagnetic fields or electricity infrastructure directly, as that falls outside the scope of a building survey. What a surveyor will do is assess the physical condition of the property, note anything in the immediate surroundings that is likely to affect value or saleability, and flag any access rights or boundary issues that are visible.

If overhead lines pass very close to or over the property, the surveyor may recommend that your conveyancing solicitor investigates the specific rights and wayleave agreements in place.

For a full picture of what a RICS Level 2 HomeBuyer Report or RICS Level 3 building survey covers, see our survey comparison page. You can also find out more about how much a survey costs on our survey cost page.

If you are selling a property near pylons, a survey can help you understand how the infrastructure is likely to be assessed by a buyer's surveyor and give you a realistic picture of what buyers may raise in negotiations. Being transparent about the proximity of pylons and having documentation about access rights and wayleave agreements in order before you market the property will help the sale process run more smoothly.

If you are considering buying a property near pylons or overhead power lines, a survey will give you an accurate picture of the property's condition and flag anything that warrants further investigation.

At Surveyor Local, we work exclusively with RICS-accredited chartered surveyors across England and Wales. Our team can arrange a survey quickly and at a competitive price.

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