Conveyancing searches: what are they, and do you need them?

Buying a property is a large financial commitment which most people will make, and much of the work that protects that commitment happens out of sight.

Among the least understood parts of the process are “searches”. The results of a search can determine whether a purchase proceeds. This article explains what conveyancing searches are, what they cover, and whether you really need them. It applies to property in England and Wales.

What are searches?

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring ownership of property from seller to buyer. As part of that process, your solicitor carries out a series of enquiries with local authorities, public bodies and specialist providers. These are the searches.

Their purpose is to reveal legal, environmental and practical matters that affect the property, such as planning restrictions, drainage arrangements, contamination risk or historic mining beneath the surface.

Searches examine the land and its legal context. They do not assess the building’s physical condition, which is the job of a survey, as explained below.

Do you actually need them?

Strictly speaking, searches are not a legal requirement. In practice, the answer depends on how you are buying.

If you are buying with a mortgage, you have little choice. Lenders almost always require searches and your solicitor will have to confirm the Lender that all is satisfactory to be able to release the funds for the mortgage. These searches protect the value of the property they are lending against.

The Lenders requirements are set out in the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, which your solicitor must follow.

If you are a cash buyer, you choose which searches if any you want to conduct. You as a cash buyer can take a risk by not carrying out certain searches.

Property in England and Wales is sold on the principle of caveat emptor, or “buyer beware”. The seller gives certain guarantees about their title to the property and must answer your solicitor’s enquiries truthfully, but they are generally not required to volunteer problems with the property’s physical condition or with the matters that searches investigate, such as planning history, road maintenance or contamination.

So, if you buy without searches and later discover, for example, that the access road is not maintained at public expense or that the land sits on a former landfill, the cost and consequences are usually yours alone. Spending a few hundred pounds on searches to avoid a five-figure problem is, for most buyers, money well spent.

The main searches

Most transactions involve three key searches.

The local authority search comprises two sets of enquiries. The first, searches the local land charges register, which records matters such as planning conditions, tree preservation orders, listed building status and conservation area designations.

The second, on form CON29, asks the council a standard set of questions about the property, including who maintains the road, its planning and building control history, and whether it is affected by enforcement notices or road schemes.

One common misunderstanding is worth clarifying: the search covers the property itself, not the wider area. It will not, for instance, reliably tell you about a neighbour’s extension or a large development planned down the road.

In England, responsibility for the local land charges register is being transferred from councils to HM Land Registry, so the first set of enquiries may now come from the Land Registry rather than the council.

The drainage and water search, confirms how the property receives its water supply, whether it is connected to the public sewer, and whether any public drains or pipes run beneath the land. That last point matters because building over a public sewer can be restricted and can complicate any future extension.

The environmental search draws on public data to flag contaminated land, former industrial or landfill use, and flood risk. Flooding warrants particular attention. As flood events become more frequent, a property’s flood history and exposure can affect both insurance premiums and resale value.

Additional and optional searches

Depending on the property’s location and type, your solicitor may recommend further checks.

Mining searches. If the property lies in a former coalfield, a coal-mining search is standard. These are obtained through the body formerly known as the Coal Authority, which now operates as the Mining Remediation Authority. Other areas require different checks, such as tin and other mineral searches in parts of Cornwall, or brine-extraction searches in Cheshire.

Chancel repair liability. This ancient liability can require the owner of certain land to contribute to repairs to the chancel of a parish church. It tends to cause more anxiety than it now warrants. Since 13 October 2013, under the Land Registration Act 2002, chancel repair liability is no longer an automatic overriding interest. In practice, a buyer purchasing for value takes the property free of the liability unless  an entry on the title or a caution for unregistered land has been entered before the purchase. The liability has not been abolished, and low-cost searches and inexpensive indemnity insurance remain common, but the risk to most buyers is now limited.

Radon. In areas with higher levels of naturally occurring radon gas, such as parts of the Southwest, the Midlands and the North, a radon report may be advisable. It is not legally required, but it can be sensible where the UK Health Security Agency’s radon maps indicate a higher likelihood.

Searches are not surveys

These two are easily confused, but they serve different purposes. Searches investigate the land’s legal, environmental and administrative background. A survey, such as a RICS Home Survey or a more detailed building survey, assesses the building’s physical condition: the roof, walls, damp, structural movement and so on. A clean set of searches tells you nothing about whether the boiler works or the chimney is sound. Most buyers, particularly those buying older properties, benefit from both.

Timing and shelf life

Searches are usually ordered early in the legal process, once your offer to buy has been accepted to get an early understanding of the property. However, one of the big delays in your purchase can be how long the searches take to come back. Turnaround times vary by area and search type, from a few days to several weeks.

They also have a limited shelf life. If a transaction is delayed, results more than three to six months old may need refreshing, and a lender will often make this a condition of the mortgage.

In short

Searches are one of the more valuable information tools of buying a property. They are essential if you are using a mortgage and strongly advisable even if you are not.

If you are unsure which searches apply to a particular property, or what a result means, contact your solicitor, who can explain the position and advise on the appropriate level of cover for your purchase.

For further information, please contact Henna Chohan on 020 8221 8042 or on henna.chohan@bowlinglaw.co.uk