Our directorJohn Jackson MRICS, director of Lansdown Associates
John Jackson BSc(Hons) MRICS MCABE C.Build E MRPSA ICIOB MEWI is the owner and director of Lansdown Associates, a RICS regulated building consultancy with offices in Liverpool, Manchester and London. He is a chartered surveyor, a chartered building engineer and a member of the Expert Witness Institute, and has worked in surveying since 2013.
Most of John’s instructions involve commercial dilapidations and other landlord and tenant matters, strategic pre-purchase advice, asset management and disposal advice for investors, and housing disrepair for both landlords and tenants. He and the Lansdown team act for first-time buyers, landlords and tenants, national solicitors, social landlords and institutional investors.
Career and background
John has worked in property since leaving school, when he joined a property developer. He went on to study for a BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying at Liverpool John Moores University. While studying, he worked for a multinational consultancy that advised investment trusts, REITs, investment banks and high net worth individuals on buying, managing and selling property. He describes it as “probably the best company I have ever worked for, but the learning curve was steep”.
He then moved to a global consultancy, giving similar advice to a much wider range of clients, from single developers to investment banks and ultra high net worth individuals. Lansdown Associates Ltd was incorporated in 2018.
John has always been interested in property. The father of one of his best friends, who taught at a college, told him he should give surveying a go. In John’s words, “the rest is history”.
Qualifications and professional memberships
The letters after John’s name show the professional bodies he belongs to. Each body has its own entry requirements and a code of conduct that members must follow.
- BSc (Hons): a Bachelor of Science honours degree in Building Surveying from Liverpool John Moores University.
- MRICS: Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors since 2016, membership number 5601166. John is a chartered surveyor, and Lansdown Associates is regulated by RICS.
- MCABE: Member of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers since 2020.
- C.Build E: Chartered Building Engineer.
- MRPSA: Member of the Residential Property Surveyors Association since 2020.
- ICIOB: Incorporated Member of the Chartered Institute of Building since 2021.
- MEWI: John joined the Expert Witness Institute in 2019 and was appointed a Member in August 2024.
Expert witness work
John acts as an expert witness in residential and commercial property disputes in England and Wales. His reports are prepared under Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which says that an expert’s duty to the court overrides any duty to the person who instructs or pays them.
His expert work includes housing disrepair claims, where the cause of damp and mould is often disputed, and dilapidations disputes at the end of commercial leases. He continues to act for social housing providers and has taken part in experts’ discussions and joint statements.
John has completed a range of expert witness training, including courses on report writing, presenting oral evidence and acting as an expert, and he keeps his continuing professional development (CPD) varied and up to date.
“I don’t think expert work is something you specifically decide to do, but after nearly two decades of experience it is rewarding to provide objective, reasoned and honest advice on an otherwise complex matter.”
John Jackson
Read more about our housing disrepair survey reports and damp and mould expert witness service, or about John’s appointment to the Expert Witness Institute.
What John works on
Every instruction is different. One day John might be inspecting a Georgian house, and the next carrying out a dilapidations assessment on an empty factory. As he puts it, “No two days are the same, and I think that’s a really lucky position to be in.”
As director, John leads Lansdown Associates’ surveying work in four areas:
- Home surveys, including the RICS Level 2 survey, the RICS Level 3 building survey, independent damp surveys and vendor surveys.
- Damp, mould and Awaab’s Law, from damp and mould surveys for homeowners and landlords to Awaab’s Law surveys for housing associations and councils.
- Commercial property and leases, including dilapidations, dilapidations liability assessments for accountants, schedules of condition and technical due diligence.
- Asset management, through planned preventative maintenance surveys that can include drone inspections of roofs and façades.
Clients John has worked with
John and the Lansdown team have acted for clients including:
- We Buy Any Car
- the NHS
- Traffic Group Signals
- The Therapy Consultants
- Cheshire Lines Social Club
- Press Bros Coffee
- Magenta
How John works
“When clients instruct me, or Lansdown Associates, to act on their behalf, they can expect friendly, commercially astute advice. No jargon, no nonsense.”
John Jackson
- Reports are written in plain English. They explain what was found, why it matters and what to do next.
- The advice is independent. Lansdown Associates does not sell damp-proofing, treatments or building work.
- Findings are backed by photographs, readings and clear reasoning, so a report holds up if it is challenged.
- Advice takes account of cost, timing and negotiation as well as the condition of the building.
- Lansdown Associates holds professional indemnity insurance with cover of £1,000,000.
Outside work
John describes himself as a bit of a nerd: he loves following the financial markets and dipping in and out of investments. Away from work, he loves spending time with his little family “exploring the best city in the world”.
What clients say about John
“I have an investment company that predominantly buys residential property in auction. We use Lansdown Associates to undertake pre-purchase surveys on every property we intend to buy. Most recently, John identified significant issues on a property in Anfield and saved us £180,000.00. We were literally about to buy until we read the report. We can’t thank him enough”
“We have worked with John on a number of property related matters, most recently on a Dilapidations and Lease issue. We find the service very thorough and professional and cannot fault the way in which John explains things to us. We wouldn’t use anybody else”
“We work with John on a regular basis. The service provided to our clients is second to none. Our clients are often first time buyers so having quality Surveyors on hand to assist with pre-purchase surveys is a massive benefit.”
“I have worked with John for years on property development. As well as being a good friend, I would consider him to be a brilliant surveyor and he definitely knows the property industry inside out. If I was buying a house, I would use John.”
Read more Lansdown Associates reviews, or see our Google reviews.
Speak to John
To discuss a survey or an expert witness instruction, call 0151 374 0905 or email office@lansdownassociates.co.uk, Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00. Quotes are free, and we usually respond within one working day.