Property Fundamentals
What searches are done when buying a house?
Property searches are the formal enquiries your conveyancer raises with public bodies before exchange of contracts. Three are effectively mandatory: a local authority search, a drainage and water search, and an environmental search. A coal mining search is added in former or current coalfield areas, and a chancel-repair search where applicable.
The local authority search returns the LLC1 register of charges and CON29 enquiries — planning history, building regulations, road status, enforcement notices and contaminated land entries — sourced from the Local Land Charges register. The drainage and water search (CON29DW) comes from the regional water company and confirms mains connections and adopted sewers.
The Coal Authority CON29M search flags past mine workings, shafts and subsidence claims. Environment Agency data underpins the environmental search for flood risk, contamination and radon. Most searches cost £30–£250; the full pack typically lands around £350–£450.
What this means in practice
A buyer purchasing a 1965 semi in Mansfield NG18 (a former coalfield) receives a search pack with five reports. The local search shows the road is adopted and a 2018 single-storey rear extension has Building Regulations sign-off. The drainage search confirms mains water and sewer connections. The Coal Authority search flags a recorded shaft 90 metres from the property and recommends a structural review — the conveyancer raises a Coal Mining Reporting Officer enquiry. The environmental search shows medium surface-water flood risk and the buyer adjusts their home insurance quote accordingly. Total search cost: £412. Without these checks the buyer would have inherited every undisclosed risk on completion.
Related questions
How long do property searches take to come back?
Local authority searches are the slowest variable. Councils that have digitised their LLC register through HM Land Registry return results within hours; councils still on paper systems can take 4–8 weeks. The Local Government Association publishes monthly turnaround tables. Drainage, environmental and coal searches are all electronic and usually return within 1–5 working days. If your target completion is tight, ask the conveyancer to order searches the day instructions are taken — not after enquiries are answered, which is the common bottleneck.
Are searches still needed if I am a cash buyer?
Lenders require searches; cash buyers can technically waive them. They should not. Searches surface flood risk, planning enforcement, contaminated land, mining subsidence and unadopted roads — every one of which can collapse the resale value or lock you into uncovered repair bills. Indemnity insurance covers some of these for typically £30–£150, but it is a fallback, not a substitute. The Law Society standard advice is that all buyers, cash or mortgaged, should run the full search pack before exchange.
Sources
Related reading
Building with UK property data?
Homedata returns 29 million UK properties — UPRN, EPC, Land Registry, risk — keyed by a single ID. Free tier, no card.
Get a free API key