Conveyancing searches, also known as property searches, are a set of questions that are carried out by your conveyancer during the buying process. The information is sourced from the local authority and contains details on the property and the surrounding area. It contains many property searches such as a local authority search, environmental search, water and drainage search, and title search.
In this guide, we will take you through everything you need to know about conveyancing searches.
What Are The Main Property Searches when Buying a Property?
The 4 main conveyancing searches when buying a house usually come in a package deal and consist of:
Local Authority Search
Environmental Search
Water and Drainage Search
Land Registry Search
The above searches will be ordered after you’ve instructed your conveyancer. In most cases, your conveyancer will apply for the searches on your behalf but in some circumstances, you can arrange to apply for them yourself as long as you check with your conveyancer that the proposed searches are compliant.
Be aware of cheap conveyancing quotes which might not include conveyancing searches.
Local Authority Search
Local Authority Searches look into the local area and land the property resides on. There are two parts to this search: the LLC1 and the CON29. These local searches cover the following:
Local Land Charges Register Search (LLC1)
- Conditional planning permission
- Planning agreements
- If the property is a listed building (this is important for older buildings)
- Whether it’s situated in a conservation area
- If it’s located in a tree preservation order area
- If the property has any financial charges registered against it
- Any required improvement or renovation grant
- If the property is within a smoke control zone
Enquiries of the Local Authority (CON29)
- Proposals for new road schemes, traffic and rail schemes near the property
- Planning decisions that can impact the property or the surrounding area
- Radon Gas Levels
- Whether the property has been built on contaminated land
- Subsidence risks
- Energy and infrastructure checks
Environmental Search
An environmental search will let you know whether the property has been built on potentially contaminated land and will highlight if there is a flood risk.
Environmental searches will look at:
The history of the uses of land in the vicinity of the property.
Whether there are traces of toxic waste or radon gas nearby.
Identifying if there’s a flood risk in the area.
Identifying the risk of subsidence.
Read more on environmental searches
Drainage and Water Search
A Drainage and Water Search will also be carried out by your conveyancer and will provide information on the location of sewers that serve the property. It will confirm whether the property is connected to the mains water supply. It’s essential that your conveyancer carries out a Drainage and Water search to highlight any major issues before you commit to the sale.
Drainage and water searches will highlight the following:
Information on the water supply company
Diagram of public water assets and sewage mains and their location relating to the property
Water meter and billing information
Where the water for the property comes from
Location of public drains on the property (if applicable)
Land Registry Search
A Land Registry search is important because it will confirm who legally owns the property you are looking to purchase. This can often be referred to as a title search. This is required by your conveyancer when buying or selling a house.
The Land Registry search will include:
Checks for existing mortgages
Checks for any charges against the property
Property boundaries
Any property restrictions
The price of the property at purchase
Planning history and property changes of buildings in the surrounding area (250m radius)
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Other Conveyancing Searches
Local authority, environmental and drainage and water searches are the most popular conveyancing searches and can usually be purchased as a package from your conveyancer. However, depending on the area the property is in, your conveyancer may need to enquire about further information.
Flood Search
A flood search will inform you if the property and area are at risk of flooding. Your conveyancer will suggest a Flood Risk Indicator report which costs £9 from the Land Registry.
Chancel Repair Search
If there's a church near your property, a chancel repair search will find out whether you're liable for the church’s repairs and maintenance. Your conveyancer can order a chancel check search which costs about £20 plus VAT, or £100 for a full chancel search. Property Able estimates that these searches will take around 5-10 days to complete.
If your property is liable for these charges, you can take out chancel liability insurance. This will cover any charges you may need to pay after you have purchased the property. The insurance will cost around £20. On average, this insurance is valid for around 25 years.
Read more on chancel repair searches
Mining Search
If you are buying in a mining area, a mining search will provide vital information on the history of mining near the property and if this affects the house. Properties built on old mining grounds are at risk of a variety of costly issues, especially subsidence. The Gov.UK website states that the report will typically take 1-3 days to be completed and sent to your conveyancer.
Read more on Buying a House in a Mining Area
Bankruptcy Search
Bankruptcy searches are commonly known as K16 searches. These checks ensure that you are in a financial position to buy a property. They are important if you are purchasing a house with a mortgage as they provide evidence that you will meet mortgage repayments.
The search will check whether you are currently bankrupt or have a history of this. Your conveyancer will check the Land Registry portal for these details. These checks are quick and easy to do and can be completed within a few hours by your conveyancer.
The K16 searches are inexpensive and will cost around £2 per name that is checked. As financial situations can quickly change, bankruptcy searches are only valid for 3 weeks after they have been completed.
Read more on What are Pre-Completion Searches?
Commons Registration
This registration is important if common land can potentially affect your property. Common land is private land that is owned by more than one person. Your conveyancer will check whether the property includes any common land or borders with it. Registration is necessary if:
- The property borders common land (this can include town and village greens)
- You are purchasing agricultural land
The registration will then provide the property owner with the right to use the land. This will include using the land for animals, pasture, piscary and turbary. The cost of commons registration will vary depending on your local authority and council.
Searches can take between 4-5 days to complete. On average, a CON29(O) form will cost £49.90 and grazing rights searches around £70.46*.
* Data taken from Swansea Government website
High-Speed Rail Search
A high-speed rail search will be needed for properties affected by the HS2 railway in England. This will cover properties in areas such as Handsacre, Staffordshire, London and Birmingham.
Conveyancing Data Services states that it will take around £15 to carry out this newer search and it can be completed within a few hours. The search will highlight:
- If the will be impacted by the new train route
- If the property will be impacted by construction work
- The distance of the property from the railway line
- Whether the property is within a 5000m radius of the HS2 line
- Maximum speed of the train and potential noise pollution to the property
- The nearest under and overground location to the property
How Much Do Conveyancing Searches Cost?
Conveyancers will usually offer a search package with the three main searches. The price can range from £250 to £450 and will vary by location, solicitor's fees and the number of searches you need. It's important you factor this into your conveyancing fees as you will have to pay these upfront and make sure to get multiple conveyancing quotes from different conveyancers to compare prices.
We've included a few of the individual costs for the many types of conveyancing searches available.
| Conveyancing Search | Cost of Conveyancing Search |
|---|---|
Local Authority Search | £50 - £250 |
Environmental Search | £50 |
Drainage and Water Search | £50 - £100 |
Flood Search | £20 - £50 |
Chancel Repair Search | £20 - £100 |
Mining Search | £25 - £120 |
| Bankruptcy Search | £2 per name |
| Commons Registration | £45 - 75 |
| High-Speed Rail Search | £15 |
Our Conveyancing Fees Calculator can give you an estimated cost.
How Long Do Conveyancing Searches Take?
Local Authority searches can take anywhere from 10 days to several months. Drainage and water, environmental, flood, mining and chancel repair searches can take between 1 and 10 days.
Our research shows that Plymouth City Council takes the longest to complete a Local Land Search, taking 36 days on average, while it only takes 21 days for Tewkesbury Borough Council to return searches.
It’s important to note that the turnaround for conveyancing search results can range from a few days to several weeks depending on how fast the relevant authority acts and how many they carry out per month.
Read more on How Long Do Conveyancing Searches Take?
Who Needs Conveyancing Searches?
If you’re buying a house with a mortgage, then your mortgage lender will require your conveyancer to carry out searches as they will be securing the debt against the property.
If you’re buying a house with cash, then you can decide how many or how few conveyancing searches you have. It’s recommended to have conveyancing searches carried out as they'll highlight problems before you commit to the purchase. If any issues arise, you can decide whether or not to resolve them immediately or to pull out of the sale altogether.
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What Can Delay Searches?
You might have a delay in receiving the results from the searches if your local authority is yet to use an electronic system. This will slow down the process by a few weeks. However, most local authorities have or are in the process of using an online system with the rise of online conveyancing.
If your searches reveal anything worrying, your conveyancer might have to order further searches which will delay the process. They sometimes might recommend taking out indemnity insurance for peace of mind in certain situations.
How Long Does it Take to Exchange After Searches?
It takes anywhere from 1-3 weeks to exchange after conveyancing searches. Your conveyancing searches should be returned and approved prior to exchanging contracts so you have time to raise queries.
Following the exchange of contracts, your solicitor will also carry out pre-completion searches. These ensure that the buyer can still afford to purchase the property.
Finding a Conveyancer
At Compare My Move, we can connect you with up to 6 conveyancers to save you up to 70% on your conveyancing costs. All our conveyancing partners have passed our strict verification process for your peace of mind. This means they are all regulated by either the SRA, CLC, LSS, LSNI or CILEx.
Need a Surveyor?
Once you've found a conveyancer, you soon might need the help of a RICS property surveyor. Simply fill in our integrated conveyancing and surveying comparison form to get connected today.
You can compare companies through our integrated conveyancing and surveying form by filling out a few extra steps. We will then connect you with local conveyancers and surveyors to save on the whole process.
