Search Information and Advice

A further consideration for you is that when you come to sell the property, your potential purchaser will probably wish to carry out these searches and issues that may be revealed and which could have been dealt with at the time of your purchase, will now fall to you, as the seller, to resolve.

Local Authority Search: Apart from local road proposals affecting land within 200 metres of the property, the Local Authority search will only give information about the property itself. It is a search of the Registers of information which the Local Authority are obliged to keep and so this will give details of the planning history of the property, any Building Control documentation issued in relation to it, whether any Notices or Orders have been issued in relation to the property, whether the road serving the property is adopted by the Council and many other matters of great

The search will not give information about other property, for example the development of neighbouring land. If, therefore, you are concerned about the possibility of a development or any matters relating to other property or land in the neighbourhood, you should make enquiries yourself of the local authority before you consent to the exchange of contracts on your purchase. We can explain how this can be done. Alternatively there are specialist agency companies who can carry out these enquiries for you. This would involve a separate fee to that agency; if you would like further details please let us know. In particular, see our comments below on the DevAssess report.

Drainage Search: This search will enable us to find out whether the property is connected to the mains drainage and mains water supply. It will also show whether there is a mains sewer passing through the garden of the property and if the property is on a metered water supply.

It is possible that the property is served by a septic tank or cesspit which would mean that further information will need to be sought. It will not confirm the actual path of any private sewers or drains and therefore we are unable to provide you with confirmation as to your liability for the private drains and sewers that connect the property to the public services.  Replies to our enquiries of the seller’s may shed some light on this.

Enviro Search: This search looks at factors concerning the environment in which the property is situated.  It advises on, amongst other things, the flood risk to the area, whether the land on which the property is sited could potentially be contaminated by previous industrial use, whether there are any potential infrastructure developments such as wind farms and also whether it may be affected by radon gas emissions.  It also advises on planning permissions granted in the vicinity of the property.

The risk to properties from climate change is a current issue of great importance and so we would recommend that you give consideration to this as part of your purchase.  As climate change occurs this can affect different properties in different ways such as coastal erosion, flooding, shrinkage of sub-soil and other issues.  It is beyond our expertise as legal advisers to advise you on matters of this type.  However, what we can advise is that if a property is affected by any of the above matters then it can have a significant adverse effect on its’ re-sale value.  The environmental searches which we order give consideration as to the likely effect on properties in the short term (the next 5 years) and the longer term (the next 30 years).

Chancel Liability Repair: Due to the change in the law which came into effect in October 2013, there is an ever-decreasing possibility that the property you purchase may attract a liability to contribute to the costs of chancel repairs in churches in and around the locality of the property.

As part of the process of checking the title to the property before we exchange contracts, thereby committing you to the transaction, we will see if chancel repair liability might be relevant to the property you are purchasing.  If it appears that there may be a risk of chancel repair liability we will then report back to you and discuss with you what steps we should then take.

Additional Searches

The following searches are additional searches which can be undertaken if requested by you or your mortgage lender:

DevAssess Report: Whereas a Planning Search ( included as part of the Enviro search above) can tell us what Planning Permissions have actually been granted or refused, this Report goes into greater depth in assessing the future development potential of the area surrounding the property.  Whilst this would most obviously have great importance to someone buying in an undeveloped area with unobstructed views, it could reveal potential infill development in existing residential areas and also tell us whether desirable areas such as parks might be developed in the future for housing.  All Local Authorities have 5 year housing quotas to fill and if they do not have a clear strategy in place for this, then there is a risk of land being developed which would not have otherwise been permitted.  This Report has regard to the Local Authority’s current strategy in this respect.

Coal Mining Search: If the Environmental search reveals, or you are aware, that the property is within an area of mining, a Coal Mining search can be undertaken which should reveal whether there is a risk of subsidence.