What are conveyancing searches?
When you buy a property your conveyancer does not simply check the seller's word. They make formal enquiries with councils, water companies and environmental data providers to reveal anything that could affect the property's value, your enjoyment of it, or your ability to sell it later.
Searches are part of the legal due diligence that runs alongside your survey. A survey tells you about the physical condition of the building. Searches tell you about the legal and environmental context around it, things a builder or surveyor walking the property could never see.
Your lender almost always requires searches before releasing the mortgage. Cash buyers can technically waive them, but doing so means buying blind, which is rarely sensible.
Main conveyancing searches
The core three plus the common area-specific add-ons.
| Search | What it reveals | Typically required? |
|---|---|---|
| Local authority (LLC1 + CON29) | Planning, road schemes, building regs, conservation, enforcement | Yes, almost always |
| Environmental | Contaminated land, flood risk, ground stability, landfill | Yes, usually |
| Water & drainage | Mains water and sewer connections, public drains | Yes, usually |
| Mining (area-specific) | Old coal or mineral workings and subsidence risk | In former mining areas |
| Flood (enhanced) | Detailed river, surface and coastal flood data | If environmental flags risk |
| Chancel repair | Liability to contribute to parish church repairs | In some rural parishes |
Your conveyancer chooses add-on searches based on the property's location and history.
Typical search costs and timings
Costs vary by local authority and area, but these ranges are a useful guide.
| Item | Typical cost | Typical turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Local authority search | £100 to £250 | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Environmental search | £40 to £70 | A few days |
| Water & drainage search | £40 to £70 | A few days |
| Mining or flood add-ons | £30 to £120 each | A few days to 2 weeks |
| Search pack total | £250 to £450 | Driven by the slowest search |
Searches are listed as disbursements on your conveyancing quote, separate from the legal fee.
What a search can flag
Real issues that searches commonly reveal:
- A planned road, railway or major development near the property.
- Past flooding or a high surface-water flood risk.
- Contaminated land from former industrial use.
- Missing building regulation sign-off on an extension or loft.
- The property being in a conservation area or listed.
- Subsidence risk from old mine workings.
- An obligation to contribute to local church repairs.
Lenders usually require searches
If you are buying with a mortgage, your lender will normally insist on searches before releasing funds. Where time is tight, indemnity insurance or 'search insurance' is sometimes used, but it covers financial loss rather than telling you what is actually there.
Delays in searches are a common hold-up
Local authority searches can take longer in some council areas, and a slow search is one of the top reasons a purchase drags on. Ask your conveyancer to order searches as soon as your offer is accepted rather than waiting for other steps.