When you’re buying a house, there are a lot of different processes that go on in the background. Most of these are to ensure the safety and protection of you and your soon-to-be-asset. One of these processes is a set of checks known as ‘conveyancing searches’, done by your conveyancer on your behalf. There are the types of searches - local authority, land registry and environmental. Today, we’re going to look in-depth at what an environmental search is, what it includes, and why it’s so important.
What Is An Environmental Search?
Environmental searches are a key part of the conveyancing process, and one of the searches you will need to have done when buying a house. In some rare cases these are optional, but most commonly they’re a requirement of your mortgage lender.
There’s a huge wealth of information available on large databases of environmental information, as well as land use information from old Ordnance Survey maps, which means conveyancers are able to check whether the land your property is built on was used for industrial purposes, chemical works, or where products were manufactured. Knowing these things is incredibly important to know, because the by-products created by old industrial processes can still pose a health hazard for the owners (which will soon be you). For example, certain toxic chemicals like lead, arsenic, mercury and other heavy metals will stay in the ground for decades, making them a potential danger to the people living there, especially children.
What’s Involved In An Environmental Search?
An environmental search will cover and report on:
Any contamination of the land
Flood risk
Ground stability (which informs subsidence risk)
Historical coal mining
Radon gas
Energy and infrastructure (e.g. power stations, wind or solar farms)
Development constraints
Environmental searches usually take around 1-2 weeks, and are done alongside other searches in the conveyancing process. If your conveyancer needs to get information from a specialist body then this may delay things, but your conveyancer should let you know about this.
Why Are Environmental Searches So Important?
Health Risks: An environmental search looks at the past use of the land, which means they can highlight certain factors that could potentially become a serious health risk to you and others living in the house. For example, if the house is built on former industrial land, there could be toxic substances still in the ground that could leech out.
Insurance Risks: This search also tells you whether the property has had any historical issues with flooding, and subsidence. If there are any flooding issues on record, you might struggle to get buildings insurance, or have to pay a much higher premium. So this report can make sure you are prepared, if needed.
Financial Risks: Buying a property is one of the biggest financial commitments you can make. If there’s anything that might cause you to lose money on this investment (for example, spending money to rectify unexpected issues), then you need to understand this upfront. You also need to know if the original party responsible for any contamination can’t be found, as this means the cost for any clean-up activities will rest with the landowner.
What Happens Once The Search Is Done?
After a conveyancer has done the appropriate searches, they will compile a report for you. This report will tell you if the property is free from risk, or if there is a potential risk. If there is, they will often issue some form of certificate to confirm the likelihood of contamination being present. It may be the case that the local council require the contamination to be removed, in which case the liability and cost will fall to the person who ‘cause or knowingly permit contamination’. If that person can’t be identified, then the liability falls onto the current owner or occupier. This is one of the big reasons why you need to know ahead of time if there is contamination – because it allows you to ensure the contamination is removed, and paid for by the right person.
At Hudson Conveyancing we provide comprehensive conveyancing services for purchases, sales, remortgages, bridging loans and more. We have a team of experienced and knowledgeable conveyancing professionals who will ensure that your conveyancing process is as smooth and stress-free as possible. If you would like to know more, just get in touch today to book your free, no-obligation consultation.
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