Standard pre-contract searches

Pre-contract searches must be carried out to reveal as much information about the property as possible before purchase.

Which searches should be undertaken in every transaction?

Local Authority Search and search of the Local Land Charges Register
Almost all transfers of property (whether commercial or residential) require a local authority search. It provides essential information about the land being purchased, enabling the purchaser to make an informed decision as to whether to proceed with acquiring an interest in the land.
The official search certificate, will reveal any entries on the register such as:

• tree preservation orders
• planning applications (granted, granted conditionally, refused, withdrawn or pending)
• enforcement notices
• light obstruction notices
• some compulsory purchase orders
• financial charges (eg for highway, drainage or sewerage works). The costs involved may be general (ie not known) or specific (quantified)
• listed building status
• smoke control orders
• land drainage schemes
• whether roads and sewers affecting the property are maintained at the public expense including details of:
  ◦ s 38 Agreements and s 104 Agreements. If such agreements are revealed, then further investigation should be undertaken; check that the requisite rights of way are in place and that the transfer of the property contains a covenant from the developer to maintain until adoption
  ◦ roads to be adopted at the cost of or without cost to the frontagers (check for requisite rights of way as above)
• planning and building regulations history for the property
• certificates of compliance relating to replacement windows, roof lights or glazed doors
• any enforcement or stop notices (note that these attach to the land, not the offender)
• road schemes within 200 metres of the property
• whether a development plan is in place and whether and how any proposals under it affect the property
• whether the property is in a conservation area (if it is, the property will be subject to restricted permitted development rights)
• compulsory purchase orders
• whether the land is on the contaminated land register (if the particular local authority has compiled its register)
• whether the property is in an area affected by radon gas (if it is then further investigation should be undertaken by the purchaser at the Health Protection Agency)

The optional enquiries search result will reveal information such as:

• public paths or byways passing through the property
• whether the property is registered as common land or a town and village green
• road proposals by public bodies
• outstanding completion notices (note that these attach to the land, not the offender)
• noise abatement action
• environmental and pollution notices (note that these attach to the land, not the offender)
• pipelines passing through the property

Drainage and Water Search
This search result will reveal information such as:

• whether foul water and surface water drain to a public sewer
  ◦ surface water should drain into the public sewer. If it does not, the property could be at risk of flooding
  ◦ if the property is not connected to mains drainage, it is probably served by a cesspool or septic tank which will be privately maintained and further appropriate enquiries will need to be raised
  ◦ the authority does not keep records of private pipes. If the public sewer is some distance from the property, there may be a length of private pipe for which the buyer may be liable (together with any other land owners who connect into it). Establish whether that pipe crosses any land other than the property, as rights of drainage will be required over that other land
• whether the sewers are adopted
• if the property is connected to the water mains
  ◦ the water provider and the sewerage undertaker may be separate companies. If no answer is received to this enquiry, then obtain a copy of the water bill for the property in order to establish a mains water connection
• the basis for charging for sewerage and water at the property and whether a water meter is fitted
• whether the public sewer is within the curtilage of the property
  ◦ if it is, obtain confirmation that it is not built over or if it is, that a build over agreement is in place. If no such agreement is in place, the authority has powers to remove the offending building in order to obtain access to the sewer

Chancel liability search
Chancel liability is the liability of a property owner to contribute towards the cost of repair of a church chancel in parishes where there is a medieval church. Such liabilities are often not recorded by deed as they pre-date the current conveyancing system. Until October 2013 chancel repair liability was an overriding interest. However, under the Land Regis-tration Act 2002, all overriding interests must be registered by 13 October 2013. The effect of the changes are that the interest does not cease to exist after 13 October 2013, but if it was not registered by this date it ceased to be overriding and a purchaser of registered land will acquire free of such liability. Unless and until first registration occurs (in the case of unregistered land), or a there is a disposition of land already registered, liability contin-ues to apply to the proprietor.
Land Registry Practice Guide 66 states that the courts have still to consider if and when it may be possible after 12 October 2013 for the holder of the interest to have the register altered so that a notice is entered where the registered proprietor has taken free of the interest following first registration, or following the registration of a disposition for valuable consideration. The courts have also still to consider whether indemnity may be payable where the register cannot be altered in this way.
The Church still maintains the right to register their interest. It is therefore recommended that chancel searches are carried out to establish if any liability exists and to avoid any potential claims of negligence for any transactions carried out after October 2013.
Chancel liability searches rose to prominence following a House of Lords decision where a couple were held liable to contribute a significant sum to their local parish church repairs. It is now standard practice for a basic search to be undertaken for every conveyancing transaction.

Environmental Search
A basic environmental search is a desktop survey and does not involve a physical inspection of the property (although more detailed/physical searches can be obtained from spe-cialist companies). The result will be based on past uses of the property and its surrounding area, and whether those past uses are likely to have led to contamination. It is important to establish whether or not land is contaminated because:

• land owners have a statutory obligation to clean up contaminated land and this can lead to hefty clean up costs
• it may pose a danger to occupiers
  There are several environmental search providers offering various levels of search. The type of search chosen will depend on:
• the property being bought
• its intended use, and
• the history of the site
  The search result will contain various data (including whether or not the property is on a flood plain and whether there are any mobile phone masts in the area) but ultimately, the property will either receive a pass or a fail certification.
• a pass means that no evidence of a past contaminative use was found (alt-hough it is possible that a past contaminative use has not been recorded (eg illegal waste dumping))
• a fail means that:
  ◦ evidence of past potentially contaminative use has been found, or
  ◦ the past use was not specifically identified (eg it is recorded as having been used for non-specific industrial use, which may be harmless, but may be contaminative) and so the search company cannot give a conclusive pass certification

If a property receives a fail, it may be possible to have the result reversed if evidence can be produced to show that any past contaminative use has been dealt with.

• ask the seller for as much information as he has about past uses and remedial works
• if the property has failed because a past planning use could not be identified, check the planning history for details of past use
• enquire of the environmental department at the local authority about contami-nated land and/or enforcement action
• if the property is a new build, there may be planning conditions outstanding in respect of contaminative work to be carried out. Check with the developer or planning department whether these conditions have been met
• if the property has an NHBC certificate, the NHBC may hold records relating to contamination works and the warranty may cover contamination issues
  If the result cannot be reversed indemnity insurance should then be sought.

Plan Search
The Local Authority search will only reveal planning applications relating to the actual property searched against. It does not reveal information relating to adjoining or neigh-bouring property even when it may affect use and enjoyment of the property searched. Remember too that, in law, there is no right to a view as such.

If there is any particular reason why you are buying this property, such as a view, its location next to open space etc. then you should let us know and you should either make your own enquiries of the Local Authority relevant to your reason for purchase or ask us to do this, particularly if it relates to any known planned works on adjoining land or devel-opment within the area as a whole.