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Residential Property Specialist If it’s your first time involved in a conveyancing transaction, you may wonder: what are conveyancing searches and why are they needed? Conveyancing searches are enquiries carried out by your solicitor with various authorities to uncover important information about a property before you buy.
Are conveyancing searches necessary?
While a cash purchaser can buy a property without conducting searches, doing so is extremely risky. Purchasing ‘as seen’ may result in unwelcome surprises, such as:
- Regular flooding makes it difficult or impossible to insure the property.
- An unstable mineshaft is beneath the property.
- Outstanding debts tied to the property that you may inherit.
- Contamination from previous industrial use, including asbestos, arsenic, solvents, or harmful gases.
- Planned developments nearby, such as housing estates, roads, wind farms, or factories, may potentially affect property value and enjoyment.
If you buy with a mortgage, the Council for Mortgage Lenders Instructions state that you must undertake “all conveyancing searches a prudent solicitor would carry out”.
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How many searches are carried out when buying a house?
Three main types of searches are undertaken when buying a house:
- Local Authority Search: Reveals planning issues, building control matters, highways, and pollution. Find your local authority.
- Water and Drainage Search: Confirms ownership and maintenance responsibilities for sewers, drains, and pipes. Checks if the property is connected to public water supply and sewerage, and whether any permissions are required for extensions.
- Environmental Search: Highlights risks from flooding, land subsidence, landslides, or contaminated land.
Additional searches may be required depending on property location. Your solicitor will advise on prudent searches, which may include:
How long do conveyancing searches take?
The duration largely depends on each authority’s workload. The Local Authority Search typically takes the longest. You might receive results in:
- 2–3 weeks if you’re lucky
- 4–6 weeks on average
- Up to 10 weeks in busier periods
See also: Fast track local authority searches