Property Searches Explained: What Your Solicitor Checks and Why
Searches tell you about a property's legal and environmental context, not its condition. Here is what each one covers, what it costs, and when the results should change your mind.
The Short Version
- Three standard searches in England and Wales: local authority, drainage and water, environmental
- Local authority search is the biggest cost (£100–£350) and the most common cause of delay
- Additional searches depend on location: mining, flood, chancel repair, highways
- Scotland uses a property enquiry certificate instead, supplied by the seller
- Searches are not a survey: they say nothing about the building's condition
- Indemnity insurance covers financial loss but does not tell you what the search would have said
What a search actually is
A property search is an enquiry made to a third party (a council, a water company, a public body) asking what they hold on record about a specific address. Searches do not tell you about the condition of the building; that is what a survey is for. They tell you about the legal, environmental and administrative context: what the council has planned, who owns the drains, whether the ground is stable, and whether anything has been built without permission.
Searches are paid for as disbursements, meaning the money passes through your solicitor to the search provider rather than forming part of their fee.
The core searches in England and Wales
Local authority search
The most important of the three standard searches and usually the most expensive, ranging from roughly £100 to £350 depending on the council. It comes in two parts. The LLC1 reveals entries in the Local Land Charges Register: planning restrictions, listed building status, conservation areas, tree preservation orders, enforcement notices. The CON29 covers planning decisions, building regulations approvals, road adoption status, nearby road schemes and enforcement history.
What it does not cover matters too. A local authority search only tells you about the property itself, not the plot next door. If you want to know whether a developer has permission to build on the neighbouring field, that needs a separate planning enquiry.
Drainage and water search
Around £60 to £100. Confirms whether the property is connected to mains water and public sewers, where the public sewers run, whether a public sewer crosses the land (which restricts building over it), and who is responsible for maintenance. If a property is not on mains drainage, this is where you find out.
Environmental search
Around £50 to £90. Reports contaminated land risk, flooding, ground stability, landfill sites, radon and nearby industrial activity. A contaminated land entry can carry serious liability implications under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and lenders take these results seriously.
Searches that depend on where you are buying
- Coal mining search: required where the property sits in a coalfield reporting area. Relevant across the North East, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Lancashire and the Scottish central belt. Reports mine entries, past workings and subsidence claims.
- Tin, clay and limestone searches: regional equivalents in Cornwall, Devon, Cheshire and parts of the Midlands.
- Flood risk search: a fuller report than the environmental search summary, worth commissioning near rivers, on floodplains or in low-lying coastal areas.
- Chancel repair search: checks for historic liability to contribute to parish church repairs. Rarer since 2013, but indemnity insurance is cheap.
- Highways search: confirms whether the road serving the property is publicly adopted and maintained, or private.
- Commons registration search: relevant for rural property adjoining common land or village greens.
How searches work in Scotland
Scotland does not use the English local authority search. The equivalent is a property enquiry certificate (PEC), obtained by the seller's solicitor and covering planning, building control, roads and statutory notices for the property.
Scottish transactions also involve a search of the Land Register or the older General Register of Sasines to confirm title, plus a coal authority report where the property lies in a former mining area, a genuine consideration across much of the central belt, Fife, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire.
Because Scottish sellers supply a Home Report before marketing, buyers also have condition and valuation information before making an offer, which is not the case in England.
Who orders searches, and when
In England and Wales the buyer's solicitor orders searches, usually shortly after instruction. This is the main reason instructing promptly matters: search turnaround varies from a few days to several weeks depending on the council, and nothing else can conclude until they are back.
Some sellers commission a search pack in advance to speed things up. These can be useful, but check the age: most lenders will not accept searches older than about six months.
Search indemnity insurance: a shortcut with limits
Where a search is delayed or a minor issue emerges, a lender may accept indemnity insurance instead. It is cheap and quick, and it protects against financial loss arising from the specific issue insured.
What it does not do is fix the problem or tell you what the search would have said. If a policy is being used to avoid a local authority search entirely, you are buying without knowing what the council has planned for the area. On a low-value purchase that may be an acceptable trade. On your main home it usually is not.
What to do when a search reveals something
Most search results are unremarkable. When something does come up, the options are broadly: accept it, insure against it, negotiate a price reduction, require the seller to resolve it, or withdraw. Your solicitor should explain which are realistic in your case.
The results that most often change a decision are contaminated land entries, significant flood risk, an unadopted access road with no maintenance agreement, a public sewer running under a proposed extension, and planning enforcement history on unauthorised works.
A Note on Jurisdiction
Scotland does not use English-style local authority searches. The equivalent is a property enquiry certificate obtained by the seller's solicitor, alongside a search of the Land Register or General Register of Sasines. Scottish buyers also receive a Home Report before offering, giving condition and valuation information that English buyers must commission themselves.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do property searches take?
Local authority searches vary considerably by council: some return within a few days, others take four to six weeks. Drainage, water and environmental searches are usually returned within a week. This variation is a common cause of delay and is largely outside your solicitor's control, which is why instructing early matters.
Do I need searches if I am a cash buyer?
They are not compulsory without a lender requiring them, but going without is a significant risk. Searches reveal contaminated land liability, flood risk, planning enforcement and drainage responsibilities that no survey would identify. Most solicitors will advise strongly against proceeding without them and will ask you to confirm the decision in writing.
How much do property searches cost in total?
For a typical English purchase, expect roughly £250 to £500 for the standard three searches combined, with the local authority search being the largest single element. Additional searches such as coal mining, flood or chancel repair add £50 to £100 each. Costs vary significantly by local authority.
Are searches the same as a survey?
No, and they are not substitutes for one another. Searches are legal and administrative enquiries about the property's context: planning, drainage, environmental risk. A survey is a physical inspection of the building's condition by a surveyor. You need both. Searches will not tell you the roof is failing; a survey will not tell you the council has approved a bypass through the garden.
Keep Reading
Related Guides and Pages
What Conveyancing Costs
How search fees sit within the wider cost of a transaction.
How Long It Takes
Why search turnaround is one of the biggest variables.
Coal Mining Searches
When a mining search is required and what it reveals.