Searches are one of the most important steps in buying a property, and understanding what they cover and how long they take can help you plan your move with confidence.
What Are Conveyancing Searches?
When you buy a property, your conveyancing team carries out a series of checks known as searches. These are formal enquiries made to various official bodies, and they give you a clear picture of anything that might affect the property or your use of it. They are entirely separate from a survey, which looks at the physical condition of the building. Searches look at the land, the local environment and the records held by the council and other bodies.
Most mortgage lenders require searches to be completed before they will release funds, and even if you are a cash buyer we strongly recommend them. Without searches, you could buy a property without knowing about issues that might affect its value, your ability to insure it, or even your right to use it in the way you intend.
Which Searches Do We Carry Out?
As part of our conveyancing service, we order a standard package of searches on your behalf. The core searches for most residential purchases are:
- Local authority search. This covers matters such as planning permissions, enforcement notices, road adoption, and whether the property is in a conservation area or affected by any proposals from the local council.
- Water and drainage search. This confirms whether the property is connected to mains water and sewerage, and whether any public sewers run through the land, which could restrict building works.
- Environmental search. This checks for issues such as contaminated land, flood risk, ground stability and proximity to landfill sites.
- Chancel repair search. This checks whether the property sits within an area where the owner could historically be liable to contribute to the repair of a local church chancel.
Depending on the location and type of property, additional searches may be appropriate. These can include a coal mining search, a tin mining search in certain parts of the country, a brine search, or a commons registration search. We will advise you which apply to your property once we have reviewed the title information.
How Long Do Searches Take When Buying a House?
Timescales vary depending on which search provider is used and, most significantly, how quickly the relevant local authority processes requests. As a rough guide:
- Environmental, water and drainage, and chancel searches usually come back within a few working days in our experience; the drainage and water search comes from the local water company and can take a little longer.
- Local authority searches take longer because each council handles them individually. In many areas, results come back within ten to twenty working days. However, some councils have significant backlogs and turnaround times can stretch to six weeks or more.
Taking everything together, buyers often ask us how long searches take when buying a house, and the honest answer is that the full set typically takes between three and six weeks from the point we place the order. In most cases the local authority search is the determining factor.
We usually order searches as soon as you have instructed us and paid for them, so the clock starts then.
What Can Hold Searches Up?
Several factors can slow the process down, and it helps to be aware of them so that delays do not come as a surprise.
- Local authority backlogs. Some councils, particularly in busy urban areas, receive a high volume of search requests and simply take longer to process them. This is outside anyone's direct control, though we monitor turnaround times and use personal searches where appropriate to speed things along.
- Boundary changes and administrative issues. If a property sits close to a local authority boundary or has recently been incorporated into a different administrative area, this can cause complications in how the search is raised.
- Incomplete or unclear title information. If there are gaps or ambiguities in the title documents provided by the seller's solicitors, we may need to raise additional enquiries before the search results can be properly interpreted.
- Seasonal pressures. Public sector offices often face extra pressure around bank holidays, which can cause short-term spikes in turnaround times.
How We Keep Your Searches Moving
At Brewer Wallace, we do not simply place your searches and wait. Our conveyancing team monitors the progress of every search we have on order and follows up proactively when turnaround times are running longer than expected.
We keep detailed records of which searches have been returned and which are outstanding, and we update you as results come in rather than waiting until everything is complete. If a result raises a concern, we will explain it to you in plain terms and advise on whether further investigations are needed before you exchange contracts.
Where a local authority offers a personal search option, where a regulated personal search company inspects the public records directly, we will discuss this with you as a way of reducing wait times. Many lenders accept them, and we check your lender's requirements first. They can be a practical solution when council backlogs are particularly long.
We also liaise directly with the seller's solicitors throughout this period on any related enquiries, so that all parts of the transaction move forward in parallel rather than one after another.
Ready to Get Started? Talk to Our Conveyancing Team
If you are buying a property and would like to understand exactly where searches fit into your purchase, we are here to help. Our conveyancing team will talk you through the full process, let you know which searches apply to your property, and handle everything on your behalf from start to finish.
Getting in touch is straightforward. You can call any of our offices directly:
- Hull: 01482 228808. Bridlington: 01262 672321 (by appointment). Hornsea: 01964 537856.
We look forward to hearing from you and helping make your purchase as smooth as possible.
Our local conveyancing teams: conveyancing solicitors in Hull, Bridlington, Hornsea and Beverley.