This search has to be made in all cases when you are buying unregistered land i.e. a property that has not yet been registered at HM Land Registry, if it is not provided by the seller’s solicitors with the draft contracts and supporting papers.

The search reveals whether the land or any part of it has already been registered and whether there is a pending application for registration.

This is relevant to a buyer to ensure that the seller is entitled to sell the property and has not already sold the property or any part of the land to another person.

According to a recent article published in the Law Society’s Property in Practice magazine, currently 2.2 million homes in the UK are classed as being at flooding risk (equal to 1 in 10 homes).

The GroundSure Flood Report is a risk screening report designed to provide an overview of whether a property lies within an area of potential or previous flood risk.  The data also takes into account flood defences and historic claims.

Living in a high risk flood area may decrease the value of your property and affect your insurance premiums.

Free flooding information is available to homebuyers at www.homecheck.co.uk and will indicate whether the property is situated in a likely flooding area.

This is only the most basic information and it would be prudent to have a flooding search undertaken on the property when buying a house.

The cost of this search and further advice regarding undertaking it can be provided upon request.

The Problem

HOMEBUYERS are often unaware that although the house they purchase may be in good condition, the land upon which it is built may not be.  This is something the usual searches will not uncover.  The local search will not reveal any landfill sites, waste disposal dumps or whether the land is at risk from contamination, toxic emissions, flooding, subsidence or radioactivity.  It has been found that there are over 250,000 sites, which have been filled, and that there are over 400,000 industrial sites, which are no longer in existence, which may have contaminated land. Many of these sites may have already been built on to provide housing.  Landfill waste disposal and old industrial land are known as “brownfield” sites.  The principle caveat emptor “the buyer beware” applies and if you purchase land that is contaminated, you may be liable to pay for the clean-up costs of the pollution created by former owners.

Why undertake an environmental report?

The Government has declared that 60% of all new houses to be built over the next decade must be built on brownfield sites (thousands already have been).  Records exist that there are over 25,000 landfill or waste disposal sites and approximately 40,000 contaminating/polluting processes including discharges and storage of hazardous substances.  It is estimated that 1% of all land in Britain is contaminated with pollutants.  These are serious enough to warrant enquiry by anyone buying a new home particularly as there are increasing health and safety concerns associated with living on or near landfill sites or sources of contamination.  If you purchase a property (without checking the environmental issues) that is contaminated, it will prove very difficult to sell and you may also find that you will have to pay for the clean up costs of the land.

THE  SOLUTION

As a result of increased computerisation, it is now possible to obtain details of the present and historical land use for properties in England and Wales.  The environmental report provides site-specific data on environmental issues affecting residential property.  The report contains information obtained from the Environment Agency, Coal Board, DETR, Ordinance Survey and other data providers.  It will provide information on whether the property you are intending to buy has been built on former landfill sites, waste sites or industrial or unstable land.  It will also provide a risk assessment as to nearby sites that may release contamination and whether the land is an area affected by Radon gas, flooding landslip coal mining or subsidence.  The report covers an area within a 500 metre radius of the property.

Free initial information is available to homebuyers at;-

www.homecheck.co.uk – free flooding information.

www.environment-agency.gov.uk – Free environmental information.

This is only the most basic information and it would be prudent to have an environmental and flooding search undertaken on the property when buying a house.

The cost of these searches and further advice regarding undertaking them is provided during the course of your transaction.

This search is compulsory where you are purchasing a property from a company.

The search is undertaken in order to check that the company exists, is not subject to insolvency and has not been struck off the Register at Companies House.

If you are buying unregistered land from a company, the search is also undertaken to ensure that there are no adverse entries that may affect you as buyer i.e. fixed or floating charges or the appointment of a receiver or liquidator.

The search is made of the register which is held under the Commons Registration Act and it will confirm whether the land is a village green or common. If it is, then you need to be made aware, because there could be entries such as the grazing of livestock on your front garden. If a registration is revealed, then you will probably not be able to fence off the boundaries of the property or develop it by making alterations or extensions.

We therefore need you to tell us whether or not the property is new build property, unbuilt property or undeveloped land, situated next to any undeveloped land, park or village green.  If it is, then the search must be undertaken at additional cost to you.

Please note that if you are buying the property from a builder, then it is likely that a Commons Search will be provided to us by the builder’s solicitors.  If this is the case, then we will obviously not undertake a further search on your behalf and will refund the cost of the search to you after completion.

If a Commons Search is required, then you need to telephone us regarding the cost of it, as different Councils have different fees in respect of this Search.  We will then make enquiries of the Council and will let you know the required fee.

This search is commissioned to reveal whether or not the property you are proposing to purchase may be affected by a potential “Chancel Repair” obligation to the local Parish Church. Such obligations stem from mediaeval times where land, previously owned by the Church to fund the local rector, had been sold and the new owner took on the repairing obligation attached to that land. Basically, any property located within the boundaries of a Parish where such a liability exists could be “caught”. The penalty is financial in that it involves having to pay for the upkeep and repair of the chancel of the local mediaeval parish church.

There was a famous case, quite recently, (Aston Cantlow v Wallbank) where the Church sought payment from the owners of the rectorial land (it was part of a property called Glebe Farm) to repair the chancel of the local mediaeval Church. The owners of the rectorial land (known as lay rectors) refused to pay and what was originally a £6000 bill increased to £96,000 as the structure slowly disintegrated.  The Church won the case.

Types of Chancel Search

Two types of searches are available;-

1. Chancel Check Search
2. Full Chancel Search

The basic Chancel Check Search reveals whether property is located within a parish that could charge for repairs to the chancel. It does not show whether or not the actual subject property is located on land that has this responsibility but does indicate a certain level of risk.

The full Chancel Search is much more expensive; however it would reveal whether the actual subject property was liable.  If it was, then we would need to register this liability with HM Land Registry.

Dealing with positive results

If positive results are revealed in either case, then it is possible to obtain indemnity insurance to insure against future claims being made against you.  We would provide you with full details and a quotation as to cost if this were the case.

It has to be said that we are not aware of any claims being made in the Teesside area against any person in respect of chancel repairs.  That being said, we cannot confirm that no such claims will be made in the future, which is why we ask you to make a decision regarding whether or not to undertake the search.  The Law Society has been calling for the Government to abolish chancel repair liability for some time.

This search is undertaken on behalf of the mortgage lender to ensure that the buyer has not been made bankrupt.  Where there is more than one buyer, a search must be undertaken against each buyer’s full name.

In practice, the search result often reveals entries under names similar to buyer and in this circumstance, we will ask you to provide written confirmation that the entries do not relate to you before we will complete the transaction.

Please note that if you are a cash buyer, then this search does not need to be undertaken, nor is it required if you are selling a property.

At Paul J Watson Solicitor, we believe that customer satisfaction is important. That’s why we send monthly questionnaires to a random selection of clients whose cases have concluded, asking what they thought of our service.

Over 90% of our clients have stated that they would recommend us to a friend/relative. We believe that our service is highly professional and friendly, and available at a low cost to you.

The testimonials below speak for themselves:-

“I find your service down to earth, honest and reliable.”

“I always found Mr Watson had time to listen and I never felt rushed in any way”.

“I found you really good and have already recommended you to friends in need of good legal advice.”

“Level of service was high standard and Julia and Paul are lovely warm people with a great team behind them. Thanks very much.”

“Thank you so much for everything you have done for us and for keeping me sane through all the problems we have had! It is much appreciated.”

“Would have no hesitation contacting Mr Watson if ever needed a Solicitor again, very pleased with the work Mr Watson did for me.”

We can highly recommend Paul Watson and Gemma Watson. They handled the sale of our house very efficiently and economically. In particular, office working hours were very flexible because we were living overseas and Gemma would call us well into the evening if she had news for us. We were so impressed we decided to renew our Wills which were a little more complicated, having estates split between two countries. Paul did some research to ensure that the Wills in both countries were valid. One aspect we would like to highlight about the service we received was Paul and Gemma’s attitude towards us as a lesbian couple. We felt extremely comfortable discussing our personal issues and would highly recommend this company to gay men and lesbians.”

The purchase of property or land is probably the largest financial commitment entered into by most people within their lifetime. An integral part of the modern conveyancing process is a search of the Register of Local Land Charges maintained by local councils.

A Local Authority Search is required to inform a potential purchaser of the existence of obligations or ‘charges’, enforceable against successive owners by local authorities, or central government.

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You can undertake a free check to find out whether your property needs a search undertaking by visiting www.coalminingreports.co.uk and entering the postcode.

A coal mining search will reveal;-

1. Whether the property is in an area where coal mining has taken, or is  likely to take place.
2. The existence of underground coal workings and mine entries which may cause problems with subsidence.
3. Whether compensation for subsidence has been paid out in the past.
4. Whether repairs have been carried out.
5. Whether there is any current claim against the Coal Authority.

Subsidence may exist in any area where mining has at some time taken place. Following the initial search with the Coal Authority, you can obtain a detailed report providing analysis and advice regarding mine shafts revealed in the report. The Coal Authority would also provide a risk assessment as to whether the main building is inside a ground movement area.

Other available mining searches;-

• If the property is situated in the Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall or Wolverhampton area, then you will need to obtain a search in relation to limestone mining.
• Similarly, in the Devon or Cornwall areas, clay mining and tin mining searches should be undertaken.
• Cheshire and Greater Manchester properties need searches in relation to brine extraction.