local searches when you buy a property

[Riverside2]

hi all
I wonder if someone can help me
I'm moving and I'm wondering how extensive a normal solicitor's local search would be

is it just that they will be aware of any major planning, building etc going on? Will they know about things that are in the pipeline but haven't officially received planning permission? Is all the information from the local council?

Also, if, for example, there were new proposals for shops, cinema etc is that the kind of thing they would find out?

Thanks.

All the information comes from the local council.

It will show up applications which have been formally made, not anything else.

It will show up applications near the house to within a certain measurement (can’t remember off hand) but nothing further.

So it’s sensible to google the local area, local news, and see if you can pick up any rumours of planned applications. This won’t be included in your lawyers work, you should do it yourself.

No this is a common misconception. The local search will report any land charges, planning applications and building regulations relevant to your property only. It will look at road schemes / traffic schemes within 200 metres. If you are interested in planning for the surrounding area (for example if Waitrose are going to build a new supermarket or if a developer is going to put up some houses, new cinemas, shopping centres, etc) you need to ask your solicitor for a planning report. These are generally around £30-£40. Hope that helps!

Thanks both

200m is really useful - I was actually thinking that going online myself for a wider search was necessary in any case but if the solicitor can find out more for that, then it's worth doing that too.

one reason I wondered is that I know in my area it's often the case that we are aware of something changing, but the actual planning application isn't made until quite a while after we find out - so I almost wondering if there was a list in advance of planning applications!

thanks again.

The 200m is only for things like roundabouts, crossroads etc. The planning will literally be only for your house - yes well a planning report would show pending applications, but unfortunately not a lot else you can do except maybe consult your councils local development plan to see if it has any plans for that area! Hope it all goes ok 😊

Read the local paper, ask around. You want to know about plans for housing estates ( flood risk, collapse of local resources, no school places) , bypasses ( increased traffic) - unless formal planning application made the search won't show these.

One other thing to look for is whether a search company does it (usually if you need it quickly) or whether the response comes back from the council itself. If a search company does it, they are limited to documents they are provided with / have access to on the day.

namechangedtoday " If a search company does it, they are limited to documents they are provided with / have access to on the day."

yes, I was thinking that the same is true of the council though - they can only tell you what's on the table at the time of asking.

No a search company should have access to the same records as the council. With a search company you are covered by insurance (PI) instead of taking legal action against the council if something is missed. The search results should have the same content regardless of provider.. and neither of which will show anything about the local area.

actually I wasn't going to bore everyone with context...but maybe a wise MNer knows.

one of the issues I have noticed recently is that councils - I think everywhere? - are fine to grant change of usage on units.

in fact I think there was an MNer who ended up with a house in her terrace running a cafe or something. but there's no search in the world that can help if the council allow that, I guess.

Damn it's not my area of expertise so i may be talking about a soecifuc instance but I meant a search company sending a representative to the Council's offices. The thoroughness of the report depends on what access the search company has.

I understand that search companies are protected by insurance but as with lots of other service providers there is usually wording in the report which limits their liability somewhat.

And it's sometimes not about having a legal remedy, it's about not putting yourself in that position in the first place.

All Local and parish councils should have a Local plan. (many smaller parish ones dont yet) .To find this go on your councils website and look up Planning Policy/ Local Plan .. This will give you ideas of what land in our area has been designated for.

Some councils have a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment document in place which shows potential sites that developers have suggested ,also local there may be local regeneration plans which will show roads industrial etc etc. Being on the local plan or SHLAA does NOT mean that it will get planning permission or ever come forward to be built out.

Also look at the current applications for your area and the Decided applications . It should all be on your local councils web site under planning.. .

A solicitor wont do that, but just look at your boundary and MAY also tell you if there is something with permission nearby.
You really need to do this yourself if you suspect something . If its come ifor planning permission. Its all publicly available. local papers are good also for whats going one..

A change of use will have to prove that it ha appropriate . if the area is mixed residential and business then it would more likely to get permission, but if its a totally residential street you are much less likely to get a shop there . You may get a B&B or a House of Multiple Occupation / Hostel .but this will have a planning notice attached and will be publicly available on the website for comment .

Sorry, can you tell I’m in the industry 🙈 there should be no difference in access that’s what I’m saying, you are technically better covered by the search company if you see what I mean because they have insurance , but yes you of course don’t want to use it. There isn’t levels of thoroughness within the search though, it either reveals something or it doesn’t. Searches are a nightmare, there’s so much more than meets the eye and the solicitor can only advise on the results of the local search 🤷‍♀️

Damn, thank you, good point re insurance.

Hi,

I'm a property solicitor and the comments by PPs are correct. If you specifically want to check the likelihood of land nearby being developed, there are specific searches available for this. My company uses one called DevAssess which costs around £100.

You will need a search to be done for the mortgage and conveyancing but you can look at the Planning Policy documents, local Plans and land use statements if they are in place online for your area yourself for free..

I expect you can guess where I work..

If it's rural, pop into the local pub and shop.