Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) Valuations
Fair Compensation When Your Property Is Acquired
If a local authority or housing association is acquiring your property, you are entitled to be paid so that you are financially no worse off than before — and that means considerably more than the market value of the property alone.
We prepare independent valuations and negotiate compensation on behalf of owners and occupiers facing compulsory purchase across London and the South East. In most cases the acquiring authority pays our fees, so obtaining independent advice usually costs you nothing.
What You Are Entitled To Claim
Compensation under the compulsory purchase legislation is made up of several distinct heads of claim. The first offer you receive may not address all of them.
Market value of the property
Assessed under rule 2 of section 5 of the Land Compensation Act 1961, disregarding the effect of the scheme itself. This is the largest element and the one most often understated.
Home loss payment
Payable to owner-occupiers and to qualifying tenants displaced from their home, in recognition of the upheaval of being made to move against your will. It is calculated as a percentage of the market value of your interest — in our recent experience typically 10% for owner-occupiers — subject to prescribed minimum and maximum amounts which are reviewed annually.
Basic and occupier’s loss payments
Where a home loss payment does not apply — investment property, for instance — basic and occupier’s loss payments may be claimable instead under sections 33A to 33C of the Land Compensation Act 1973. In our recent experience the basic loss payment for investors is typically 7.5% of the value of the interest, subject to a statutory cap.
Investors should also look closely at the incidental costs of replacing the asset. Stamp Duty Land Tax on a replacement investment property is a substantial sum and, together with legal and agency fees on the reinvestment, forms part of the claim rather than something you simply absorb.
Disturbance
Your actual costs of being displaced: removals, storage, redirecting post, disconnecting and reconnecting services, new carpets and curtains where existing ones cannot be reused, stamp duty and legal and agency fees on a replacement purchase, and mortgage redemption penalties. For a business, disturbance can extend to relocation costs, loss of profits and loss of goodwill.
Severance and injurious affection
Where only part of your land is taken and the value of what you retain is reduced, either by the severance itself or by the effect of the scheme on what is left.
Your professional fees
Reasonable surveyor’s and solicitor’s fees are themselves a head of claim, recoverable from the acquiring authority. That is why independent representation rarely costs a claimant anything.
How We Help
1. Inspection and independent valuation
We inspect the property, measure it, gather comparable evidence and prepare a formal valuation of your interest. The report sets out the basis of value, the assumptions and the evidence, so it stands up to scrutiny by the authority’s own valuer or, if it comes to it, the Upper Tribunal.
This is usually carried out at the acquiring authority’s cost. Most authorities will undertake to pay a claimant’s reasonable surveying fees, and we agree that undertaking before we start.
2. Reviewing the offer
Where our assessment and the authority’s offer differ, we identify precisely where and why — the comparables relied on, the assumptions made, the condition and improvements taken into account, and any heads of claim that have simply been left out.
3. Negotiation and representation
We then negotiate on your behalf, whether the acquisition is voluntary and pre-CPO or follows a confirmed order. Most claims settle by negotiation. Where they cannot, a reference can be made to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), and we prepare and give evidence.
4. Settlement and payment
We agree the final figure across all heads of claim, including advance payments where you are entitled to them, and see the matter through to payment.
Voluntary Acquisition or Post-CPO?
Most schemes begin with the authority trying to buy by agreement, with compulsory powers held in reserve. The route affects timing and leverage, but not your entitlement.
| Voluntary (pre-CPO) | After a confirmed CPO | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis of compensation | Usually agreed on compulsory purchase principles | Governed by the compensation code |
| Loss payments | Normally still payable by agreement | Statutory entitlement |
| Your fees | Usually met by the authority | Recoverable as a head of claim |
| Timing | Faster, and you keep more control over the move | Driven by the authority’s timetable |
| If you cannot agree | The authority may proceed to make an order | Reference to the Upper Tribunal |
Engaging early is almost always worth it. A well-evidenced valuation put forward before positions harden tends to produce a better settlement than an objection raised late.
Why the First Offer Is Often Not Fair Value
Acquiring authorities are not acting in bad faith, but their valuer is instructed by them and works from their assumptions. In our experience the recurring issues are:
- Comparable evidence drawn too widely, or from a period that does not reflect the valuation date.
- Scheme effects not properly disregarded. Blight caused by the scheme itself must be ignored, and frequently is not.
- Improvements overlooked — extensions, conversions and refurbishment that the claimant has paid for.
- Heads of claim omitted altogether. Disturbance in particular is often reduced to a token figure rather than the actual cost of moving.
- Leasehold interests undervalued, especially where the lease is short or the ground rent onerous — an area where our leasehold work is directly relevant.
An offer that looks reasonable against a portal listing can still be well short of what the legislation entitles you to once every head of claim is properly assessed.
Where We Act on Compulsory Purchase
We act on compulsory purchase and pre-CPO acquisitions across all 32 London boroughs and the wider South East, for owner-occupiers, tenants and investors alike. Wherever the scheme is and whichever body is promoting it — a local authority, a housing association, a transport or infrastructure undertaker — the compensation code is the same and we can act.
Recent instructions include the following, though they are examples rather than the limit of where we work.
Kingston upon Thames
Valuation and negotiation on acquisitions by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames as acquiring authority, including residential flats within estate regeneration schemes.
Lambeth and Merton
Acting for owners on acquisitions where Clarion is the acquiring authority, across regeneration schemes in the London Boroughs of Lambeth and Merton.
Beyond these boroughs
These are simply the schemes we are most active on at present. We take instructions on compulsory purchase throughout Greater London and the South East, and we are happy to act wherever a scheme arises.
Why local knowledge matters on a CPO
Compensation turns on comparable evidence, and estate regeneration schemes are precisely where comparables are hardest to find and easiest to argue about. Knowing the local market street by street — and knowing how a particular authority and its valuers approach claims — is worth more here than in almost any other valuation work.
See our borough pages for local experience, and our RICS Red Book valuations and expert witness services.
Compulsory Purchase FAQs
In most cases the acquiring authority does. Reasonable surveyor’s and solicitor’s fees are a head of claim recoverable from the authority, and most authorities give an undertaking to meet them at the outset. We agree that undertaking before starting work, so independent advice usually costs you nothing.
No. The first offer is a proposal, not a determination. You are entitled to instruct your own valuer, put forward your own assessment and negotiate. If agreement cannot be reached, compensation can be determined by the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
A payment to owner-occupiers and qualifying tenants displaced from their home, recognising the upheaval of moving against their will. It is calculated as a percentage of the market value of the interest, subject to prescribed minimum and maximum amounts which are reviewed annually.
Yes. Disturbance compensation covers the actual costs of being displaced — removals, storage, service reconnections, stamp duty and professional fees on a replacement purchase, and mortgage redemption penalties. Businesses can also claim relocation costs, loss of profits and loss of goodwill.
Yes, ideally as soon as the scheme is announced. A well-evidenced valuation put forward early, while the authority is still acquiring by agreement, tends to produce a better settlement than an objection raised once positions have hardened.
It affects the value of your interest, and it is an area where authorities’ valuers frequently get it wrong. Lease length, ground rent provisions and any subsisting right to extend all bear on the figure. Our leasehold enfranchisement work means we assess these properly rather than applying a broad discount.
You may be entitled to compensation for severance and injurious affection — the reduction in value of the land you retain, whether caused by the division itself or by the effect of the scheme on what remains.
It depends on the scheme and the authority. Voluntary acquisitions can complete within months. Where an order is confirmed and compensation is disputed, a reference to the Upper Tribunal takes considerably longer. Most claims settle by negotiation without a hearing.
Received a Notice or an Offer?
Send us the address and any correspondence you have received from the acquiring authority — a notice, an offer letter, or simply news of a scheme. We will tell you what you are likely to be entitled to, and confirm the position on fees before any work begins.
In most cases the acquiring authority meets our costs, so there is rarely anything to lose by taking independent advice.
