Increasingly, the presence of a nearby power line or substation can become an issue when buying or selling a house. A survey report may flag it up; questions about safety may arise; you, or you solicitor, or the other side’s solicitor, may decide that a survey is needed.
The first thing to say is that a survey should not be needed! All residential properties near power lines or substations in the UK are compliant with the relevant exposure limits, and government policy is crystal clear that this (compliance with these exposure limits) is the only test that applies. There are no further restrictions.
So there should be no need for anyone to perform measurements. But in the real world, if you are trying to buy or sell a house and you are up against deadlines, you may decide that a home visit to perform measurements and provide reassurance is the best thing to do.
If so, approach the electricity company who own the equipment first. It will be National Grid or one of the electricity distribution companies, not the supply company you buy your electricity from. Until recently, they all offered free home visits under some circumstances, and if they’re willing to do it for free, you’d be foolish to pay anyone. But if they won’t do a visit, or you don’t want to use them for some reason, we offer a fixed-price package for you if you live in, broadly, the south east of England.
- A telephone conversation, to work out what the specific issues are, and see if they can be resolved without a visit – if we can save you the cost, we will!
- A visit (during daytime hours) to the property concerned, during which we will investigate the sources of field, measure the magnetic field in as many locations inside and outside the property as you want (within reason), and discuss with you the findings, the scientific evidence on EMFs, and the broader issues, and answer any questions you may have. (It is magnetic fields, not electric fields, that are usually the focus of concern and currently we don’t offer to measure electric fields.)
- A written report containing the measurements made, references to the key documents, and an explanation of how the measurements demonstrate compliance with the exposure limits. You are welcome to send this report to anyone you wish (surveyors, solicitors, mortgage companies, etc.), or we can give you a “to whom it may concern” letter instead.
- A follow-up phone call, if required, once you have received the report, to address any questions it raises
We like to keep things simple so we charge one of two flat rates including travel costs. (No VAT is added.)
- Within one hour travel of Junction 9 on the M25 (broadly, south and central London, Surrey and much of Sussex, and parts of Kent, Hampshire, and Berkshire): £350
- Within two hours travel (broadly, most of the rest of the home counties): £400
- Beyond this: you’d probably do better finding someone more local, but feel free to talk to us if you particularly want our help