5 min read
Discover what an environmental search covers and why you need one when buying a property.
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An environmental search is a key part of the conveyancing process as it helps identify potential risks with the property and its surrounding land. Here we explain what an environmental search involves, why it’s important, and how it can help you make a more informed property purchase.
In this article:
An environmental search is a type of conveyancing search carried out when buying a house. It reviews historical and current records to identify potential risks associated with the property and its surrounding area. This includes checking whether the property is on or near contaminated land or water as well as identifying any issues such as flooding or landslips from nearby rivers, seas, or lakes.
An environmental search report will cover:
Contamination to the land
Flood risk
Ground stability (i.e. subsidence risk)
Historical coal mining
Radon gas
Energy and infrastructure (e.g. power stations, wind or solar farms)
Development constraints
All conveyancing searches are important as they make you aware of potential issues with your purchase before legal ownership is transferred. An environmental search is important as it provides information on potential health, insurance, and financial risks associated with the property.
As environmental searches look at the past use of the land, they can highlight certain factors which could potentially become a serious health risk to you and those living in the house. If the house is built on former industrial land, for example, there could be toxic substances still remaining in the ground.
The environmental search also indicates whether the property has had any historical issues with flooding. If there are any flooding issues, you may struggle to get buildings insurance, or you may have to pay a premium.
Buying a property is a big financial commitment, and an environmental search can help identify issues that could lead to unexpected costs or affect the property’s value in the future. This includes issues that you’d have to spend money to rectify or make the property harder to sell.
It’s also important to note that if the original party responsible for any contamination cannot be found, the cost for all clean-up activities will fall to the landowner.
Yes. An environmental search can uncover natural factors that may impact your property’s value, such as risks from flooding, subsidence, or invasive plants. Discover the key natural forces that could affect your home and how to address them in our comprehensive article.
If your search identifies issues, your conveyancer will explain the options to you. These include deciding not to proceed with the purchase, negotiating a lower offer, or asking the seller to resolve the issue before exchanging contracts.
Although environmental searches are not a legal requirement, they are strongly recommended as part of the conveyancing process to identify potential risks to the property. Additionally, if you are using a mortgage, it’s likely your lender will require them to be carried out.
An environmental search usually takes around one to two weeks to complete. However, it could take longer if additional information is needed from a specialist body or there are delays due to high demand in the property market.
Environmental searches typically cost between £50 and £150, although it can vary depending on the provider and the level of detail you need. At My Home Move Conveyancing our quotes include the cost for conveyancing searches upfront. Get a quote to see your full conveyancing cost or find out more about the cost of conveyancing searches in our article explaining conveyancing fees.
The cost of conveyancing searches, including the environmental search, is something that the buyer must pay for and then owns. Most searches now are insurance backed in case the search provider has made an error (which is incredibly rare), so the buyer will have the benefit of this as well.
Yes. Even though new-build properties are newly built, they can still be affected by environmental risks such as contaminated land or flooding.
There are other conveyancing searches you will need to get when buying a house such as a local authority search and a land registry search. All of which a conveyancer will take you through.
For more information on how long conveyancing searches take, who pays for them and the process of dealing with the enquiries, read our conveyancing searches guide.
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