Conveyancing searches explained
Plain-English guide to LLC1, CON29, water, coal and environmental searches in England and Wales conveyancing. Educational only.
This guide describes the main conveyancing searches used in residential purchases in England and Wales after an offer is accepted. It covers the conveyancing stage of a typical residential purchase.
Conveyancing is the legal work that transfers ownership of land or property. Searches are official or commercial enquiries that a buyer's solicitor or licensed conveyancer typically obtains during that work. They sit alongside the title documents held by HM Land Registry. A related overview of the wider process appears in Conveyancing explained. Plain-English terms also appear in the jargon guide.
HOME READY Guide Limited is not a law firm. This article is general information only.
Searches and the title register
HM Land Registry keeps a title register and a title plan for most registered properties. The title register shows ownership and the title number. The title plan shows general boundaries. Official copies of those documents are a separate product from conveyancing searches. Portal and Business Gateway official copies cost £7 each per copy, and postal applications on form OC1 cost £11 per copy (HM Land Registry information services fees page, last updated 9 December 2024; checked 17 September 2026). A non-official online download of a title register or title plan costs £7 each where an official or court-proof copy is not required (Search for property information from HM Land Registry; checked 17 September 2026).
Searches look at other risks and local information. They do not replace a reading of the title.
Local authority searches: LLC1 and CON29
A local authority search usually has two parts.
An LLC1 search relates to the Local Land Charges register. Local land charges are generally financial charges or restrictions on use of land imposed by public authorities. Common types include planning-permission conditions, listed buildings, conservation areas, tree preservation orders, planning or enforcement notices, smoke control orders, and light obstruction notices (HM Land Registry practice guide 79; page updated 14 September 2026; checked 17 September 2026). Consumer examples also include highways agreements and environmental health notices (Search for local land charges; checked 17 September 2026).
Where HM Land Registry is the registering authority for an area, official or personal Local Land Charges searches are made to HM Land Registry. Migration under the Infrastructure Act 2015 is phased by local authority area, and not all areas have migrated yet. CON29 enquiries still go to the local authority (practice guide 79; checked 17 September 2026).
In HM Land Registry areas, the official Local Land Charges search fee is £15 for an official search of the register including the official certificate. A personal search is free. There is no further official-search fee if the same person paid for an official search of the same property within the last six months (HM Land Registry Local Land Charges fees guidance; fees page last updated 28 April 2021; checked 17 September 2026). That fee does not cover CON29 council fees. Local authority CON29 enquiry fees are set by individual councils and vary by area.
CON29 (2016) is the Law Society standard form of enquiries of local authorities used in conveyancing. CON29O (2016) covers optional enquiries. Topics on CON29 can include pending decisions, roads, transport, rights of way, and future use or financial burdens (Law Society CON29 forms; checked 17 September 2026).
Results from these searches are among the documents typically reviewed during conveyancing. HOME READY also publishes a free search-results guide for orientation only.
Water and drainage: CON29DW
CON29DW Residential drainage and water enquiries (2016) is the Law Society form used for residential drainage and water information. A commercial CON29DW form (2021) is also published (Law Society CON29 forms; checked 17 September 2026). These enquiries typically cover how the property connects to public sewers and water mains, and related drainage arrangements.
Coal mining searches
CON29M is the Law Society coal mining search form (2018). It covers information on past, present or future underground and surface coal mining activity in a coal mining or past coal mining area. Guidance notes were updated in May 2018 with the Coal Authority (Law Society CON29 forms; checked 17 September 2026).
The current consumer page on gov.uk uses the name Mining Remediation Authority. The legal name remains the Coal Authority. A solicitor or conveyancer will usually obtain a coal mining search when buying land or property in an affected area (Check if a property is affected by coal mining; checked 17 September 2026).
A coal mining report can cover mine entries within 20 metres of boundaries, gas emissions from coal mines, other reported coal mining hazards, and plans for future coal mining. A free check exists to see whether a report is needed. Paid report prices from the Mining Remediation Authority start at £27 plus VAT (same gov.uk page; checked 17 September 2026). That figure is product-dependent and is not a full search-package cost.
Contaminated land and flood risk
Contaminated land has a statutory meaning in England and Wales. Under section 78A(2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, contaminated land is land that appears to the local authority to be in such a condition, by reason of substances in, on or under the land, that significant harm is being caused or there is a significant possibility of such harm, or that significant pollution of controlled waters is being caused or is likely to be caused. That Part 2A regime is distinct from private environmental search products.
The Law Society publishes a practice note for solicitors in property transactions on contaminated land (page dated 28 January 2020). It is the Law Society's view of good practice, not legal advice (Contaminated land; checked 17 September 2026).
Flood risk is a separate enquiry class. The Law Society also publishes a practice note on flood risk and flood searches (page dated 31 January 2020), again as a good-practice view rather than advice (Flood risk; checked 17 September 2026).
Official flood-risk information services for England include a long-term flood risk service. It covers risk from rivers and the sea, surface water, reservoirs, and groundwater where data is available. It does not say how likely an individual property will flood, and it does not cover risk from blocked drains or burst pipes (Check long term flood risk; checked 17 September 2026). A Flood Map for Planning also exists on gov.uk.
Private environmental search products exist alongside these official sources. There is no single standard package fee published on gov.uk, Law Society, or HM Land Registry pages for a full private environmental package.
Chancel repair liability
Chancel repair liability is the requirement for a landowner to pay for repair of the chancel of an Anglican parish church. Under changes linked to the Land Registration Act 2002, rights not protected by a register entry before 13 October 2013 may not bind a new purchaser after a sale (Historical rights that could affect property; checked 17 September 2026). Commercial chancel search products exist; there is no Law Society-named chancel search form on the official domains used for this guide, and no sourced national package fee.
How searches fit the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol
The Law Society Conveyancing Protocol is a set of steps published by the Law Society for freehold and leasehold residential transactions. It is not designed for new-build. It is Law Society material, not an exhaustive checklist (Conveyancing Protocol; checked 17 September 2026). Searches typically sit inside that wider sequence of legal work. HOME READY's timeline describes stages from offer accepted to completion in plain English.
Who to ask
Questions about which searches apply to a specific purchase, and what any result means for that purchase, are for a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. Solicitors in England and Wales are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Licensed conveyancers are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). Registers on those bodies' websites list regulated firms and individuals. HOME READY Guide Limited is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
Key takeaways
- 1Conveyancing searches are enquiries obtained during the legal transfer of property; they sit alongside HM Land Registry title documents.
- 2Local authority work typically combines an LLC1 Local Land Charges search with CON29 enquiries; CON29 still goes to the council even where Local Land Charges have migrated to HM Land Registry.
- 3Water and drainage information commonly uses the Law Society CON29DW form; coal mining information uses CON29M and Mining Remediation Authority reports in affected areas.
- 4Contaminated land and flood risk have both statutory or official information routes and private search products; official flood tools do not state the likelihood that a single property will flood.
- 5Figures in this guide are dated; council CON29 fees and private package prices vary and are not given as a single national number here.
- 6Last reviewed September 2026. HOME READY Guide Limited is not a law firm. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.
General information only. This article is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal, financial, surveying or tax advice. Every property purchase is different - always consult a qualified solicitor, mortgage adviser or surveyor before making decisions. Home Ready Guide Limited is not FCA authorised.
