Pre-contract searches and enquiries - Interpreting and repor...

Learning Outcomes

This article outlines pre-contract searches and enquiries in property transactions, focusing on interpreting and reporting search results, including:

• Primary types of pre-contract searches and enquiries, their legal purposes, and when each is necessary.
• The principle of caveat emptor and its impact on the conduct and interpretation of searches and enquiries, with limits and exceptions across registered and unregistered titles.
• Interpretation of search results from local land charges, local authority enquiries, water and drainage companies, environmental data providers, and other specialist sources.
• Legal and practical significance of rights, restrictions, planning enforcement notices, financial charges, and environmental risks revealed by searches or replies to enquiries.
• Client reporting standards, clear communication of findings and recommendations in compliance with professional standards, and advice tailored to the client’s objectives to enable informed decision-making.
• Application of legal and procedural principles to complex and realistic scenarios and decision points regarding further investigation, negotiation, or indemnity insurance to address adverse entries or risks.
• Reporting obligations to both buyer and lender clients, management of potential conflicts of interest, and implications for professional liability in conveyancing practice.

SQE1 Syllabus

For SQE1, you are required to understand pre-contract searches and enquiries and how to interpret and report search results, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

• The main types of pre-contract searches and enquiries required in freehold and leasehold transactions
• Legal and practical significance of caveat emptor, and the limits of the seller’s disclosure duties
• Procedures for interpreting the results of core searches and identifying common risk areas
• Professional obligations for reporting results, including the SRA Code of Conduct, duties to lender clients, and requirements of lender handbooks
• The use of best practice to manage and report risks discovered in searches, including further enquiries, negotiation, and indemnity insurance
• Impact of search results on the structure and content of contracts, special conditions, and the progress or aborting of transactions

Test Your Knowledge

Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.

1. What is the principle of caveat emptor and how does it affect the interpretation of pre-contract search results?
2. Name three common types of pre-contract searches and state one key risk each is designed to reveal.
3. If a local search reveals a planning enforcement notice, what should you do when reporting to your client?
4. What is the solicitor’s duty when reporting search results to a client under the SRA Code of Conduct?

Introduction

Pre-contract searches and enquiries form an essential stage in all property transactions in England and Wales. These legal and practical prescripts are designed to uncover latent and patent issues affecting the property, including planning breaches, financial burdens, environmental hazards, or restrictions that could adversely affect the buyer’s intended use or the value of the asset. The principle of caveat emptor places the responsibility firmly upon the buyer and their solicitor to investigate and understand the risks associated with the property before any contractual commitment occurs. As such, interpreting and reporting on search results accurately and comprehensively is central to effective client care and professional risk management.

Key Term: caveat emptor
The legal rule that the buyer is responsible for checking the property’s condition and risks before purchase. The seller’s duty to disclose is limited.

Fulfilling this investigative and reporting function is not simply a tick-box exercise. A solicitor must exercise professional judgment in interpreting the responses and contextualising their significance for the client’s particular transaction. The quality of reporting both affects the client’s decision to proceed and underpins the solicitor’s compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.

Legal Principles: Caveat Emptor and Disclosure

The doctrine of caveat emptor continues to be a fundamental principle in the conveyancing process across both registered and unregistered land. Under this doctrine, the seller is generally only obliged to disclose latent defects in title—those not reasonably discoverable by inspection or ordinary due diligence. The seller need not disclose physical defects or matters apparent from inspection, nor disclose issues that can be revealed through searches and standard pre-contract enquiries.

However, caveat emptor does not give the seller or their solicitor carte blanche to mislead. Where the seller provides replies to specific pre-contract enquiries, if the replies are untrue or incomplete, they may incur liability for misrepresentation (fraudulent, negligent, or innocent). Notably, under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, traders in residential sales also have specific obligations not to omit material information or engage in misleading actions.

Failure by the buyer’s solicitor to make reasonable and appropriate searches associated with the property may give rise to professional negligence if the client suffers a loss. The required level of investigation will depend on the type of property, its location, intended use, and the lender’s requirements where mortgage finance is involved.

The principle is summarised:

• The seller must only disclose latent defects in title.
• The buyer takes the risk for matters which careful inspection, searches, and standard pre-contract enquiries would disclose (including matters revealed in the local land charges register or which can be deduced from the title).
• Misleading answers to enquiries by the seller/seller’s solicitor may give rise to claims in misrepresentation.

Professional practice now emphasises using standardised forms and checklists—such as the Law Society’s Property Information Form (TA6) and Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—to ensure that relevant information is both obtained and communicated in an appropriate manner.

Main Types of Pre-Contract Searches and Their Interpretation

Each type of pre-contract search is undertaken for specific reasons, and their results can affect the buyer’s decision or the structure of the eventual contract.

Local Land Charges Search (LLC1)

The LLC1 search deals with entries on the local authority’s land charges register. There are twelve categories of charges including financial charges, planning agreements, tree preservation orders (TPOs), conservation area designations, smoke control orders, improvement grants, and listed building status. These entries are not always obvious from physical inspection and can have substantial legal and practical ramifications.

For example, a financial charge entry may represent a sum payable by the property owner for bringing a road up to adoption standards; a charge relating to a TPO prohibits the felling or lopping of certain trees without consent.

Key Term: local land charges search (LLC1)
A search revealing statutory charges or restrictions registered against a property, including planning, financial, and environmental matters.

• If a buyer acquires land subject to a local land charge, they will be bound by it even if they did not know of its existence, under the relevant statutory rules.
• If a TPO is discovered, the client must be alerted to criminal offences for its breach and the corresponding limitation on the use and enjoyment of the property.

Enquiries of the Local Authority (CON29 and CON29O)

The first part of the CON29 form contains standard enquiries submitted to the local authority covering planning history (permissions, refusals, enforcement), building regulations, highway status (whether roads abutting the property are adopted), compulsory purchase orders, notices or proceedings, and drainage matters. The optional part, CON29O, includes property-specific queries such as pollution notices or commons/village green registrations.

Key Term: enquiries of the local authority (CON29)
Standard questions asked of the local authority to reveal planning, building, highways, and environmental issues affecting the property.

For example, responses may reveal the presence of an unadopted road, raising questions over access rights and maintenance obligations, or may show that recent works were undertaken without necessary approvals—an issue potentially requiring regularisation or insurance.

• If a planning enforcement notice or breach of condition notice is revealed by the CON29 search, details must be obtained and the client advised on ongoing potential liabilities.
• CON29 will also indicate whether the property is affected by an Article 4 Direction withdrawing permitted development rights, or if it forms part of a conservation area or is subject to a CPO (compulsory purchase order).

Water and Drainage Search (CON29DW)

Water and drainage searches establish whether the property is connected to public water mains and public sewers, whether drains and sewers within the property boundaries are adopted (i.e., maintained at public expense), and whether any pipes or sewers cross the property, which could restrict development potential.

Key Term: water and drainage search
A search confirming the property’s connection to public water supply and drainage, and revealing any private maintenance obligations.

Common issues include discovering that foul water drains to a private system, putting responsibility for costly repairs or upgrades on the buyer. The search may also show water meters, lead supply pipes, or that there is no formal agreement for resolving private drainage arrangements.

Environmental Search

Environmental searches, usually conducted on a desktop basis, assess whether the land may be classified as ‘contaminated’ under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This type of search can also reveal risk from previous land use (e.g., former industry, landfill), risk of radon, evidence of subsidence, or chemical/hydrocarbon contamination.

Key Term: environmental search
A search assessing risks of contamination, flooding, or other environmental hazards affecting the property.

• If a potential for contamination is identified, further specialist surveying (site investigation, sampling) may be recommended.
• A buyer may become liable as an “appropriate person” for remediation costs even if not responsible for causing the contamination.

Flood Search

Flooding presents a significant physical and financial risk. Flood searches give an indication of risk from river, coastal, surface water, or groundwater flooding. Many environmental reports include a basic flood assessment, but additional detailed reports may be needed if a risk is identified.

Key Term: flood search
A search revealing the likelihood of flooding from various sources, which may impact insurability and property value.

Results may affect the buyer’s ability to obtain suitable insurance or the terms/cost of cover, and in high-risk areas may impact the willingness of lenders to advance funds.

Additional and Location-Specific Searches

Certain properties and localities require tailored searches, including but not limited to:

• Mining searches (coal, tin, brine, clay, limestone) where past or present mining activity may cause subsidence.
• Chancel repair liability searches to detect ancient obligations to contribute to the repair of a local parish church.
• Canal and River Trust or Environment Agency searches for riparian properties.
• Highways authority searches where there are doubts over access to a publicly maintained road.
• Commons registration searches to confirm that land is not registered as common land or subject to public rights of use.

Key Term: mining search
A search revealing past or proposed mining activity near the property, including any subsidence claims or reserved mineral rights.

Key Term: chancel repair liability search
A search revealing any liability to contribute towards chancel repairs in the local parish church.

Key Term: commons registration search
A search establishing if the land is registered as common land or town/village green, affecting use and development.

Key Term: highways search
A search of the local highways authority confirming the extent of the publicly maintained highway in relation to the property.

Transaction- and party-specific searches include company searches (against corporate sellers or buyers) and bankruptcy/insolvency checks (especially where mortgage finance is involved). In unregistered land, Land Charges searches against prior estate owners are essential.

Relevance of Physical Inspection and Survey

Physical inspection by the buyer and a professional survey are not “searches” in the narrow sense but are fundamental to the due diligence process. Inspection can reveal issues such as unregistered occupiers with overriding interests, physical encroachments, apparent discrepancies between boundaries and plans, or unauthorized works.

Interpreting Search Results

When reviewing and interpreting search results, the primary objective is risk assessment: does any revealed matter undermine title, intended use, value, or marketability? If searches reveal adverse entries, the solicitor must advise on the risk, investigate further if necessary, and suggest appropriate action before exchange of contracts.

Key considerations include:

• The nature of any encumbrance (e.g., restrictive covenant, financial charge, planning enforcement)
• Whether a risk or liability is one-off or ongoing (e.g., future contributions towards road adoption)
• The ability to rectify or mitigate the risk (e.g., through indemnity insurance, regularisation of planning breaches, consent to works or use)
• The impact on the client’s intended use or the lender’s security

If an entry is found on the LLC1 indicating, for example, a financial charge for adopting an estate road, the solicitor must clarify the amount outstanding, who will pay, and whether this can be resolved prior to completion or needs adjustment to the purchase price.

If a reply to the CON29 reveals unadopted roads or an absence of planning permission for building works, further enquiries with the seller and the local authority, as well as a review of the planning and building regulation documents, are necessary.

If environmental risks or flood hazards are suggested, a more detailed survey may be needed, or the solicitor may recommend obtaining suitable indemnity insurance, especially where the risk is remote but cannot be excluded with certainty.

Where searches disclose issues of overriding interests—such as someone in actual occupation (by inspection), legal easements, or short leases—solicitors must also ensure the client is informed of the practical effect, including the risk of binding third-party rights not readily apparent on the title.

Worked Example 1.1

A local search reveals a planning enforcement notice relating to an unauthorised extension built by the seller. What should you do?

Answer:
Advise the client of the risk of enforcement action; obtain copies of the notice and any correspondence; request evidence from the seller showing that the breach has been remedied (such as retrospective planning permission or a certificate of lawful use); consider requiring the seller to regularise the breach before exchange or provide a suitable indemnity insurance policy. Inform the client that lenders may refuse to lend against the property if the breach is unresolved.

Worked Example 1.2

A water and drainage search shows the property is not connected to a public sewer. What is the risk?

Answer:
The buyer will be responsible for maintaining any private drainage system (such as a septic tank), with potential liability for maintenance, repair, or even upgrading to comply with environmental regulations. Additional investigation or a specialised survey is advised; the buyer should seek confirmation from the seller about usage, compliance, and past issues.

Worked Example 1.3

A chancel repair liability search indicates a possible liability but no notice is currently registered against the title. What should you recommend?

Answer:
Check whether there has been a transfer for value since 13 October 2013. If so, the liability should not bind the buyer unless a notice has been registered. If not, there remains a small risk that a notice could be registered before completion and registration; suggest indemnity insurance for chancel repairs if the risk, however remote, would concern the buyer or lender.

Worked Example 1.4

An environmental search returns a ‘potential contaminated land’ result. What action is required?

Answer:
Advise the client that they could become responsible for clean-up costs under Environmental Protection Act 1990 if the original polluter cannot be traced. Further inquiry (such as an environmental desktop report or site investigation) may be warranted. If contamination risk is confirmed, evaluate the cost of remediation and consider price negotiation, further insurance, or withdrawal.

Reporting Search Results to Clients

The solicitor’s reporting duty extends not only to relaying factual findings but also analysing their significance and providing clear, practical recommendations. General principles include:

• Results must be explained in plain English, with technical terms clarified (e.g., meaning and effect of a tree preservation order, or a ‘financial charge’ recorded on the title).
• The nature and gravity of any adverse result must be contextualised—does it affect marketability, habitability, ability to get insurance, or restrict a proposed use?
• Recommendations must be practical: does the client need to seek further specialist input, secure insurance, renegotiate price, or even withdraw?
• Solicitors have corresponding duties to lender clients—results which affect title or the value of security must be reported, following the requirements of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook or the lender’s specific instructions.

Key Term: reporting duty
The professional obligation to communicate search results and risks to clients in clear, understandable terms.

When acting for both a buyer and a lender, solicitors must be attentive to potential conflicts of interest, especially if a result would affect the lender’s willingness to advance funds. Breach of the reporting duty can give rise to professional negligence or disciplinary action.

The solicitor’s report should cover:

• The results of the investigation of title and implications for use and value
• The results of searches and enquiries, with clarity about risk and next steps
• Principal terms of the contract and what they mean in practical terms for the client
• Any lender-specific findings, notably risks or restrictions that may affect lending

Clear written reports, ideally supported by spoken explanations, ensure the client understands the gravity and practicality of matters discovered.

Professional Standards

The SRA Code of Conduct requires solicitors to ensure clients receive all information necessary for a clear understanding of what the search results mean for them—enabling truly informed decisions. For matters affecting marketability or value (e.g., structural instability due to mining, contamination risk, enforceable covenants), mere notification is insufficient—a professionally responsible solicitor will give detailed advice as to risk, consequences, and available options.

Lender Requirements and Certification

When acting for lenders, solicitors must consider not only their own duty to the buyer but also requirements imposed by UK Finance or the Law Society CML Lenders’ Handbook. Certificates of title must not misstate the security offered, and any adverse matters (such as an outstanding enforcement notice or contaminated land risk) must be explicitly disclosed.

Best Practice in Interpreting and Reporting Search Results

• Maintain a systematic checklist for each type of search, ensuring no key risks are overlooked.
• For every adverse or unusual entry, follow a process of investigation, clarification, and practical assessment (including whether further search, investigation, survey, or insurance is needed).
• Communicate with your client in a focused, practical manner, distinguishing between low, moderate, and high risks and providing viable courses of action.
• Be mindful not just of legal liability, but also practical hurdles (such as lender restrictions or insurance exclusions).

Exam Warning

If you fail to report a material issue revealed by a search, you may be liable in negligence. Always check that all search results have been reviewed and communicated to the client before exchange.

Revision Tip

When reviewing search results, create a checklist of key risks for each search type. Practice summarising findings in one or two sentences for client reports.

Summary

Correct interpretation and reporting of pre-contract search results is essential to effective client advice and property risk management. The principle of caveat emptor places the onus for comprehensive investigation squarely with the buyer’s solicitor, but this is accompanied by professionalism in reporting findings and practical recommendations. Understanding the wide range of searches—local land charges, local authority, drainage, environmental, mining, chancel liability, and highways (among others)—is necessary for providing information that allows clients to make informed decisions and manage risk before entering into binding contractual commitments. Meticulous and honest reporting—especially on matters raising doubt over the property’s value, use, or insurability—is not only good practice but a matter of regulatory compliance.

Key Point Checklist

This article has covered the following key knowledge points:

• The principle of caveat emptor places responsibility on the buyer to investigate property risks before purchase.
• Main pre-contract searches include LLC1, CON29, water and drainage, environmental, and flood searches; additional searches may be required depending on location and type of property.
• Interpretation includes identifying legal risks, practical liabilities, and restrictions affecting the property’s use, value, and marketability.
• Solicitors must report search results and risks clearly to clients and, where appropriate, to lenders, highlighting both risk and proposed solutions.
• Failure to report material issues can expose the solicitor and firm to liability in negligence or professional discipline.
• Search results can and do affect the structure and content of contracts (including the need for special conditions), the ability to complete the transaction, and the post-completion registration process.

Key Terms and Concepts

• caveat emptor
• local land charges search (LLC1)
• enquiries of the local authority (CON29)
• water and drainage search
• environmental search
• flood search
• reporting duty
• mining search
• chancel repair liability search
• commons registration search
• highways search