It would depend on whether there is a preservation order over the house (and where you are of course). In the UK and Australia, preservation orders limit what work can be carried out and it is quite likely you couldn’t move walls. You might be able to make almost no changes to the house and even how you paint it and the like may be dictated by the order. If the building has historic and/or architectural value, they may want to keep it as close to its original form as possible.
If there’s a preservation order, it might require any work to return the building to its original state. So if someone has used a non-conforming method, that any future work would need to return the home to its original form.
With other orders, you might have more leeway to change things. So it depends on whether there is a preservation order over the property, and the terms of that order. However, in Australia and the UK, a building with a preservation order over it can be a very costly purchase. You may need to employ specialised tradesmen and only be allowed to use very specific building materials. Certainly, moving walls is likely to be an absolute no no in some cases.