Conveyancing Explained

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.

Whether contained in the Home Information Pack or whether undertaken independently, the Local Land Charge Search will reveal any planning permissions and building regulation approvals granted in relation to the property. Your solicitor needs to check that there have been no breaches of any permissions or approvals that might leave you open to enforcement action in the future

If the permissions are dated within the last four years, then the terms of them are still enforceable by the Council if a breach has taken place; however, if a period of four years has elapsed, then breach of planning permission is no longer enforceable. This is because after this period of time, any action by the Council is statute barred.

So, if you’re buying a property and you’re asked to pay for copy planning permissions to be obtained, they only need to be provided if they’re dated less than four years ago and usually, they would be provided by the seller. That’s assuming of course that the seller hasn’t refused to pay for them, which does happen.

The time period may not apply in relation to building regulation approvals and completion certificates however. Due to the findings of a case called Cottingham v Attey Bower & Jones (2000), solicitors should always ask for and obtain copies of the building regulation approvals and completion certificates (if cc’s were granted by that Council at that time). Breaches of building regulations can be enforced via an injunction under Section 36(6) of the Building Act 1984 and therefore, the Council can take action at any time, (although usually a period in excess of ten years expired is seen as satisfactory by mortgage lenders if no action has been taken), for works undertaken since 1985.  Prior to that, building regulation breaches cannot be enforced.

If the building regulation approvals cannot be provided by the seller, then they should be obtained through the local Council. Depending on the age of the documents, you might be able to get copies via the Planning Portal, which now enables people to access planning permissions and building regulation approvals relating to any property, online. You can’t always get them if they’re older documents though.

Please note that a building regulation approval is issued at the start of the building works when plans etc have been checked. A completion certificate is a more recent document that is issued by the building control officer once the work has been completed satisfactorily following his inspection.

If the documents cannot be provided, then indemnity insurance should be obtained by the solicitor to protect both you and if relevant, your mortgage lender.

The chancel is a part of a church which includes the altar, santuary and choir.

If the property you’re buying is situated within a parish with a medieval church, then you could find yourself required to pay towards the upkeep of the chancel area of the church.

In a case in 2000, two homeowners were asked for nearly 100,000 pounds as a contribution towards the upkeep of the local chancel area of their church and it was eventually found that they were liable to pay. A nasty shock, whether you’ve lived in a property for years or have just moved in!

Although this is a rare case, the liability still exists (although the Law Society is currently calling for the requirement to be abolished). As this is a relatively minor risk, most solicitors don’t offer this as search as standard and you’ll need to ask for advice if you want to be covered.

A chancel search can be undertaken at www.secure.clsl.co.uk/index/php. This will reveal whether the property is situated within a parish which continues to have a potential risk. If so, you can get insurance to cover you for the possibility of the church calling upon you to contribute in the future. The searches aren’t particularly expensive, they cost around 20.00 pounds for a basic area search.

Is the house near a river, stream or brook? If so, you’ll need a rivers search. This will tell you whether you’re liable to contribute towards the repair and maintenance of the river banks and will also tell you whether you’re liable for flooding from the river. You can see www.environment-agency.co.uk for more information.

Is the house next to or near a canal? If it is, then the same reasons given above will apply. See www.britainwaterways.co.uk for more information.

If the property is a new build, is unbuilt, or is situated next to a village green or common, then you need to make sure that your conveyancing solicitor is aware of this and that a Commons Search is undertaken. This is not provided in a HIP as a standard search and you will need to pay for it.

A solicitor will be liable in negligence if he doesn’t undertake this search and it is necessary due to the individual subject property.

The search is made of the register which is held under the Commons Registration Act and it will tell you and your conveyancing solicitor is 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.

It is for these reasons that it is very important that you tell your conveyancing solicitor if any of the above requirements apply i.e. new build property, unbuilt property or undeveloped land, or if the property is near a village green or common. If in doubt, check with the seller and with the local Council.

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. You can get further information by telephoning the Coal Authority Mining Reports Information Line on 0845 601 2608.

A full coal mining search will show you if the house is within an area that has been mined in the past or could be in the future. This is important to you because if mining has/will take place, then this can cause subsidence and damage to the building. The search also reveals brine extraction.

If the property is situated in the Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall or Wolverhampton area, then you will need to have your conveyancing solicitor obtain a search in relation to limestone mining, which you will need to pay for.

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 and

Hampshire and Dorset properties which are in or near the New Forest need a search undertaking via the Verderers of the New Forest (more info is available at www.verderers.org.uk). This search will reveal whether the property is situated on common land or land affected by common rights. This can mean that a right to graze animals on the open waste land of the New Forest.

Your conveyancing solicitor should check this anyway, but you should really make sure that these searches are done if the area of the property situation is relevant.

A Water & Drainage Report (CON29DW) is provided by the various local water companies in England and Wales. The CON29DW report reveals details of water and sewerage assets under and around properties allowing solicitors to determine if properties are properly serviced and to identify any liabilities that the owners may incur.

The search will cover the following issues;-

1. Public sewer maps
2. Foul drainage and surface water
3. Public adoption of sewers and lateral drains. This will confirm whether or not the surface and/or foul water drains run into a public or private sewer. It is often the case that the connection between the property and the publicly maintained sewer does not belong to the Local Authority and that it is privately owned/shared with the owners/users of that private connection accordingly.
4. Public sewers within the boundary of the property
5. Public sewers near to the property
6. Building over a public sewer, disposal main or drain
7. Map of the waterworks i.e. water pipes, waste pipes and drains
8. Adoption of water mains and service pipes
9. Sewerage and water undertakers
10. Connection to mains water supply i.e. public or private
11. Confirmation of how the property is billed for water and wastewater charges (water meter or rateable value)

This search should always be undertaken in every conveyancing transaction, so make sure that your quotation/estimate includes the cost of it.

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.

A ‘charge’ describes a burden imposed on land with which successive owners or occupiers of land and/or property must comply. The charges detailed on the Local Land Charges Register would not normally be disclosed by looking at the title deeds or inspecting the land or property itself. Local Land Charges may be of financial or non-financial nature.

A search of the Register is made to ensure that prospective purchasers are not caught unawares by any charge placed on the land or property which may be enforceable against owners. It would inform a potential purchaser as to whether the local planning and local highway authorities have any proposals for the area.

A search of the Council’s records ensures that there are no hidden surprises, such as:

• Repayment of monies owed to the Council e.g. Improvement/Renovation Grants
• Conservation Areas: These areas have been designated by the authority as areas containing special architectural or historic interest. Obviously it is desirable to preserve or enhance these areas and the Local Authority may not allow future development of the buildings or surrounding land as a result.
• Listed Buildings – A listed building would have strict rules as to what you would and would not be allowed to do in the development of the property/land.
• Preservation Order on a tree(s) situated on the land
• Future developments that could affect the property
• Compulsory Purchase Orders
• Proposed Tree Preservation Orders
• Many informal notices under Planning and Highway Laws which cannot be found on any register.
• Road proposals or Schemes (including road widening)
• Proposed enforcement action.
• Environmental Issues
• Smoke Control Orders Only certain approved types of fuel can be used in Smoke Control Areas e.g. smokeless coal.

In addition to the registerable items revealed on the Local Land Charges Register a potential purchaser will also wish to know of any notices about to be served on the property which will become binding upon any new purchaser upon completion. A search is also undertaken of such unregisterable charges.
Please note that the search only covers the land and property shown on the land registry plan which you propose to purchase. It will not provide your conveyancing solicitor with details regarding any future proposed developments and plans for the surrounding areas. If you want your solicitor to obtain this information, you will need to pay additional fees for him to undertake such enquiries with the council.

Buying a house is one of the biggest financial commitments that you will ever make in your life. Would you really risk your investment for the sake of spending a few extra pounds at the beginning? Why would you not want the most detailed and relevant information available to you regarding the property?

You can find some basic free information for properties in your area by entering the postcode at relevant sites online.

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

www.environment-agency.co.uk provides 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. Your conveyancing solicitor will undertake these searches on your behalf.

Although this will result in additional cost to you, in the Teesside area search providers usually charge around 30 pounds. Surely this cost is justified when buying a house when you consider that if the house is in a flood risk area, in addition to the possibility of your house flooding, you may find that some insurers won’t provide you with buildings insurance!

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). Added to this, the same article indicated that 70% of new build homes are built on brownfield land, sites which are statistically more likely to be affected by contamination and pollution.

Despite the potential importance of environmental and flooding searches, you won’t find them as a standard search document in the HIP when you’re buying a house. Your conveyancing solicitor should offer to undertake the search for you and let you make the decision for yourself, unless he knows that the property is high risk and then your conveyancing solicitor will insist that the search should be undertaken, particularly so if you are getting a mortgage. Remember he has a duty to the mortgage lender to make sure all necessary searches are undertaken.

Here’s a link to a specimen report by leading provider Ground Sure for you to get an idea about what might be contained in your search result;-

http://www.groundsure.com/files/GroundSure%20Home%20Environmental.pdf