What are the searches when buying a house, and which do I need?
Searches are enquiries your conveyancer makes of third parties about the land rather than the building. What each one covers, which are standard, which are area-specific, and why they take the time they do.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 12 min
- Read
- 5 min
Short answer
The standard set in England and Wales is a local authority search, a drainage and water search and an environmental search, with area-specific extras such as mining, and a chancel check. They ask third parties about the land, not about the condition of the house — that is what a survey is for. Lenders normally require them, and turnaround is set by the council and the water company, not by your conveyancer.
Searches are the most misunderstood delay in a purchase, because buyers assume the conveyancer is doing them and could go faster. Mostly the conveyancer has ordered them and is waiting: a local authority search is answered by the council at whatever speed that council works, and turnaround between councils varies enormously. Understanding which search answers which question also tells you when a slow result is worth waiting for and when it is not.
Step by step
- Understand what a search is not.It is not an inspection. Nobody visits the house. A search is a set of questions put to an organisation that holds records — the council, the water company, a commercial data provider — and the answer is only as good as those records.
- Local authority search — the core one.Two parts: the LLC1 local land charges register, which reveals financial charges and restrictions registered against the property such as listed building status, conservation area, tree preservation orders and enforcement notices; and the CON29 enquiries, which cover planning history, building regulations, adopted roads, nearby road schemes and similar. This is the search that most often sets the timetable.
- Drainage and water search.Answered by the water and sewerage undertaker. It tells you whether the property is connected to mains water and to the public sewer, where the public sewers run relative to the building, and whether a public sewer runs under it — which matters if you ever want to extend, because building over or near a public sewer needs the water company's agreement.
- Environmental search.A desktop report from a data provider covering contaminated land risk, landfill history, flood risk, radon and ground stability. A red result rarely stops a purchase on its own; it usually prompts a further, more specific report.
- Add the area-specific searches.Coal mining in former coalfields, tin and other mining in Cornwall and Devon, brine in parts of Cheshire, limestone in the West Midlands. Your conveyancer orders these on the basis of the postcode, and a lender in an affected area will expect one.
- Expect a chancel repair check.A cheap screening search for potential liability to contribute to the repair of a parish church chancel. Since October 2013 it has no longer bound a buyer for value automatically, so it only bites where it was protected by an entry on the register — but conveyancers still screen, and where a risk shows the usual answer is an inexpensive indemnity policy.
- Ask whether search insurance is being used instead.Some lenders accept a personal search or a search indemnity policy where the council is slow. It is faster and it is not the same product — ask your conveyancer what has actually been obtained and whether your lender has accepted it.
- Read the results, do not just file them.The two things worth reading yourself are the planning history — because it shows what was and was not consented — and anything the report flags as requiring further action. Ask your conveyancer to explain any entry you do not understand before exchange, not after.
- Know what searches do not cover.Condition, boundaries on the ground, what the neighbours are like, and anything not yet registered or applied for. A planning application submitted last week may not appear. If a development matters to you, check the council's planning portal yourself as well.
Tips
- Check the council's planning portal yourself for the property and the street. It is free, current, and shows applications a search may pre-date.
- Ask on day one which searches your conveyancer intends to order for this postcode. Mining and other regional searches added late add weeks.
- Keep the search pack with the deeds after completion. It is the cheapest evidence you will ever have about the land.
Common mistakes
- Treating the search pack as the conveyancer's paperwork — The planning history section in particular tells you what has and has not been consented at the property, which is information you will want long after completion.
- Waiving searches to speed up a purchase — The risks searches reveal — a charge, an enforcement notice, an unadopted road you are liable to contribute to — become yours at completion, with no recourse.
If it doesn't work
The purchase has stalled and nobody can say why
Cause: An outstanding local authority search at a slow council — Fix: Ask your conveyancer for the date the search was ordered and the council's published turnaround. If it is far outside that, ask about a regulated personal search or search insurance, and whether your lender accepts it.
The environmental search came back with a red flag
Cause: Historic land use, flood or ground stability data near the postcode — Fix: Ask what specifically triggered it. The usual next steps are a more detailed report on that single issue, or an indemnity policy, and either is normal rather than a reason to withdraw on its own.
A public sewer runs under the garden
Cause: Revealed by the drainage and water search — Fix: It is common and rarely a problem for living in the house. It matters for extending: building over or close to a public sewer needs a build-over agreement with the water company. Factor that into any plans you had.
Questions people ask
How long do searches take?
Days to many weeks, and almost all of the variation is the local authority element, which depends entirely on how that council is resourced. Your conveyancer cannot speed it up; they can only tell you when it was ordered and what has come back.
Do I have to have searches if I am a cash buyer?
No — searches are required by lenders, not by law. Buying with cash and no searches is possible and is a real risk: you would be taking the property with whatever charge, notice or liability the search would have revealed.
Are searches different in Scotland?
Yes. Scottish conveyancing uses its own set, including a property enquiry certificate and searches in the Land Register and the Register of Inhibitions. The seller's solicitor commonly provides some of them. Ask your Scottish solicitor which are being obtained and by whom.
Do searches transfer if my purchase falls through?
Generally not to a different property, and their usefulness on the same property has a shelf life — a lender will usually want searches no more than about six months old. If a purchase collapses and later revives, ask whether the existing ones can be relied on.