Block Management in Dartmouth
A principal residence rule that reaches conversions, and listed quay walls and lamp posts.
Dartmouth RMCs, RTM companies and freeholders can use Plymouth Block Management, 37 miles away, for block, estate and leasehold management. The town's neighbourhood plan supports open market housing only where sole or main residence occupancy is secured, conversions included. Around 225 statutory list entries, twelve at Grade I or II*, take in quay walls and lamp posts, and steeply stepped streets shape scaffold and plant access.
What We Would Put First for a Block in Dartmouth
Plan Access for Stepped Streets
The council's appraisal records narrow streets not designed for vehicles and steeply stepped roads between tightly packed houses. For a block in the old town we would plan scaffold, plant and refuse access into every specification and Section 20 consultation.
Major works and Section 20Confirm Listed Fabric Before Works
Around 225 list entries include quay walls, lamp posts, conduits and a horse trough as well as houses. We would check whether the block or its boundaries are listed and obtain consent before specifying external repairs.
ConsentsMeasure Radon in Lower Floors
The TQ6 9BH postcode returns band 5, and buildings cut into the hillside have more enclosed space at or below ground. We would recommend radon measurement in those communal areas and log the results on the compliance record.
ComplianceCheck Occupancy Terms on Lease Consents
The neighbourhood plan supports open market housing, conversions included, only where sole or main residence occupancy is secured by condition or legal agreement. When handling lease consents for alterations or subletting we would check for any occupancy restriction affecting the building.
Leasehold managementManaging a Block in Dartmouth at a Glance
- Local authority
- South Hams District Council
- Authority type
- District, under the county council
- Building control
- Devon Building Control Partnership, covering South Hams, Teignbridge and West Devon
- County
- Devon
- Fire and rescue service
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
- Water and sewerage
- South West Water
- From our Plymouth office
- Approx. 37 miles by road, under an hour
- Setting
- Inland
What It Costs to Move a Block in Dartmouth to Us
Management is a fixed annual fee, quoted for the building and agreed before we start. We take no commission and no third-party incentives, so the fee is the whole of what we earn from the building. Taking a block on carries a one-off start-up fee, set by size:
| Block size | Fee |
|---|---|
| Start-up fee, up to 10 units | £420.00 |
| Start-up fee, up to 25 units | £540.00 |
| Start-up fee, 50 units and above | £660.00 |
Taken from our published Additional Services price list, PBM Form #01-27 rev.6, effective 23 June 2025. All fees quoted are inclusive of VAT. See the full price list and how a handover works.
Principal Residence Rules Apply to Conversions Too
Dartmouth's neighbourhood plan, made on 15 December 2022, carries a principal residence policy that is stricter than most and reaches conversions as well as new build: open market housing is supported only where occupancy as a sole or main residence is secured by condition or legal agreement, the policy applies to the conversion of existing buildings, and the plan states that new unrestricted market homes will not be supported at any time. The joint local plan adds that conversion into flats is permitted only where it will not harm the character of the area having regard to the number of converted and non-family dwellings already nearby, and only where the flats are self contained. The 10 per cent HMO concentration cap that applies within 100 metres in Plymouth does not extend here.
21.7 Per Cent Flats Against 10.5 Across South Hams
The Dartmouth and East Dart ward was 21.7 per cent flats at the 2021 Census, against 10.5 per cent across South Hams. The council's appraisal notes that the commercial centre contains a large proportion of mixed-use buildings, with shops at ground floor and residences above.
Tidal Dart Warnings Name the Embankments and Bayards Cove
Dartmouth sits on the tidal River Dart near its mouth, so its water risk is estuarine rather than open coast. The Environment Agency's tidal flood warning area names the streets directly: Bayards Cove, the Quay, the North and South Embankments, Mayors Avenue, Duke Street and Coronation Park. The town also sits within the wider Dart estuary and River Dart flood alert areas.
Even the Quay Walls and Lamp Posts Are Listed
The Dartmouth conservation area was first designated in January 1971 and extended in 1985, 1992 and again in January 2013, so the boundary that applies to a given block depends on which extension caught it.
The council's appraisal records around 225 entries on the statutory list, of which twelve are Grade I or Grade II*. The entries take in the quay walls, lamp posts, telephone kiosks, conduits and a horse trough as well as houses, so external works touch listed fabric far more often here than in a typical town. Bayard's Cove Castle is a scheduled monument.
Band 5 Radon at TQ6 9BH, Under Steep, Cut-in Buildings
A live query at the TQ6 9BH postcode centroid returns band 5 of 6, a maximum potential of 10 to 30 per cent of homes at or above the action level, where measurement is advised. In a town whose old streets are steeply stepped and whose buildings are cut into the hillside, the enclosed space at or below ground level is a larger share of the building than the band alone suggests.
Second Homes Pay a 100 Per Cent Premium
South Hams gave notice on 2 March 2024 that a 100 per cent second homes premium would be added automatically from 1 April 2025, and links it to the housing crisis the council declared in September 2021. The long-term empty premium reached 100 per cent at one year on 1 April 2024, having previously needed two years, and rises to 200 per cent at five years and 300 per cent at ten.
Four Devon Unitaries Are Due by April 2028
On 16 July 2026 the Secretary of State decided to reorganise local government across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay into four unitary councils, replacing Devon County Council and its eight districts. Elections to the new councils are due in May 2027 and they are to be implemented by April 2028, through a Structural Changes Order subject to Parliamentary approval. Until then the existing county and district structure stands.
The obligations in the lease and in statute do not change. What changes is the body an application goes to and the authority that enforces housing standards, so compliance records and planning history need to be in order before the transfer rather than after it.
What Else Changes About Managing a Block in Dartmouth
- The council's own appraisal records that access to the town was historically by sea, leaving narrow streets not designed for vehicles and steeply stepped roads between tightly packed houses. That dictates scaffold, plant, refuse and fire appliance access for every block in the old town.
Towns and Villages We Cover from Dartmouth
Kingswear, Stoke Fleming, Dittisham, Blackawton, Strete, Slapton.
Service charge or accounts query? Email accounts@
Dartmouth Questions
Can We Convert Part of Our Dartmouth Building into Extra Flats?
Only within tight rules. The neighbourhood plan, made on 15 December 2022, supports open market housing only where sole or main residence occupancy is secured, and it reaches conversions. The joint local plan permits conversion into flats only where it will not harm the character of the area, having regard to converted dwellings nearby, and only where the flats are self contained.
What Council Tax Applies to Second Homes in Dartmouth?
South Hams added a 100 per cent second homes premium automatically from 1 April 2025, linked to the housing crisis it declared in September 2021. The long-term empty premium reached 100 per cent at one year on 1 April 2024, having previously needed two years, and rises to 200 per cent at five years and 300 per cent at ten.
Which Dartmouth Streets Are in the Tidal Flood Warning Area?
The Environment Agency's tidal warning area names Bayards Cove, the Quay, the North and South Embankments, Mayors Avenue, Duke Street and Coronation Park. Dartmouth sits on the tidal River Dart near its mouth, so its water risk is estuarine rather than open coast, and it also falls within the wider Dart estuary and River Dart flood alert areas.
Is the Council for Dartmouth Changing?
Yes. Reorganisation was decided in July 2026 and takes effect by April 2028. The lease obligations do not change; the authority you file with does.
Nearby Areas
Talk to Us About Your Building in Dartmouth.
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