What happens if a conveyancing search reveals a problem?
Discovering a conveyancing search problem during the process of buying a house is more common than most buyers expect — and it is rarely the end of the road. Searches are designed to surface exactly these issues before contracts are exchanged, which means finding a problem at this stage is actually the system working as it should.
What matters most when property search results flag something unexpected is understanding what your options are and acting on the right advice quickly. A conveyancing search problem can lead to renegotiation, specialist investigation, indemnity insurance, or — in the most serious cases — withdrawal from the purchase. This guide walks through each type of problem, what triggers it, and what you can realistically do about it.
What conveyancing searches actually check
Before exploring what happens when something goes wrong, it helps to understand what conveyancing searches are looking for. When you are buying a house, conveyancing searches are a set of formal enquiries made to various public bodies and registries to gather information that would not be apparent from a viewing, a survey, or even the Land Registry title documents alone.
The core searches that produce property search results in most residential transactions are:
- Local authority search: checks planning permissions, building regulation decisions, enforcement notices, road adoption status, tree preservation orders, conservation area designations, and listed building status.
- Water and drainage search: confirms how the property connects to public sewers and water mains, identifies the location of shared drains and pipes, and flags any history of sewer flooding.
- Environmental search: assesses flood risk, contaminated land, proximity to landfill sites, radon gas levels, ground stability issues, and other environmental hazards.
- Land Registry search: confirms ownership, identifies any restrictions, covenants, or easements registered against the title.
Additional searches may be ordered depending on the property’s location and history. In former mining areas — parts of Cornwall, South Wales, the Midlands, and the North of England — a mining search is standard. In some areas, a chancel repair search is also advisable to check whether the property carries an ancient obligation to contribute to Church of England repair costs. Your solicitor will advise which searches are appropriate for the specific property you are buying. If a conveyancing search problem emerges from any of these checks, the nature and severity of the issue determines what happens next.
The most common conveyancing search problems
Not all issues flagged by searches are equally serious. Some are informational — confirming something the seller already mentioned, or showing a planning consent that has already been complied with. Others are more significant and require careful consideration before you proceed with buying a house. The most common problems that emerge from searches include:
Planning and building regulation issues
Local authority property search results frequently flag extensions, conversions, or alterations that were carried out without planning permission or building regulations approval. This is one of the most common conveyancing search problems in residential transactions. If the work is over a certain age, it may have become immune from enforcement — but a mortgage lender may still require evidence of compliance or indemnity insurance before they will lend against the property.
Flood risk
An environmental search that flags flood risk does not automatically mean the property is unbuyable — it means the risk needs to be understood in more detail. The search may return a “further action required” result, which typically means the solicitor needs to obtain additional information or a specialist report to clarify the level of risk. Some lenders will not lend on properties in high-risk flood zones without specific insurance conditions being met.
Contaminated land
If an environmental search reveals that the property sits on or near contaminated land — the site of a former petrol station, industrial works, or landfill — further investigation is usually needed before the purchase can proceed. A “fail” result from an environmental search does not always mean the land is currently a problem: in many cases, the contamination has been remediated and a certificate of compliance or NHBC certificate can change the result to a “pass.” Where genuine contamination exists, indemnity insurance or a price reduction may be appropriate.
Drainage and sewer proximity
A water and drainage search can reveal that a public sewer runs through or close to the property. This is a significant finding when buying a house, because building over or close to a public sewer requires consent from the water authority, and in some cases it restricts what can be built in that area of the garden entirely. If you were planning to extend the property, this may affect those plans materially.
Restrictive covenants
Land Registry searches and local authority checks can both reveal restrictive covenants — legally binding obligations that restrict what can be done with the property or land. Common examples include covenants preventing commercial use, restricting the erection of further buildings, or requiring properties in a development to be maintained to a certain standard. The age and enforceability of a covenant matters significantly to how it is treated.
Chancel repair liability
This is a relatively rare but potentially significant finding. In some parts of England and Wales, properties are subject to an ancient liability to contribute to the cost of repairing the chancel of the local parish church. The amounts involved can occasionally be substantial. Indemnity insurance is the standard response to a chancel repair liability flag, and the cost of the policy is typically modest.
Concerned about something in your search results?
Most conveyancing search problems can be resolved, but acting quickly is key. Your options may include further enquiries, indemnity insurance, renegotiation, or in some cases walking away. Get expert advice before you commit to the purchase.
What your options are when a conveyancing search problem is found
When a conveyancing search problem comes to light, your solicitor will present the issue clearly and advise on the available courses of action. The right response depends on the nature and severity of the finding, whether it affects the property’s value or mortgageability, and whether it can be managed without compromising your position as a buyer. The main options are as follows.
Raise further enquiries with the seller
The first step in almost every case is for your solicitor to raise formal enquiries with the seller’s solicitor to get more information. For planning and building regulation issues, this means asking the seller to explain the history of the work and provide any documentation they have. For environmental issues, it means obtaining specialist reports. The property search results themselves tell you that something exists — further enquiries establish the full picture.
Obtain specialist reports or surveys
If the search flags a risk that cannot be assessed from documents alone — ground instability, contamination, flood risk, or suspected subsidence — a specialist survey or report may be needed. These are typically commissioned from environmental consultants, structural engineers, or drainage specialists. The cost is borne by the buyer, but the information obtained is usually essential to making an informed decision about whether to proceed, renegotiate, or withdraw.
Renegotiate the purchase price
A conveyancing search problem that affects the property’s value gives you legitimate grounds to renegotiate. If a drainage search reveals that a planned extension will require expensive “build over” consent, or if an environmental report confirms flood risk that will increase insurance costs significantly, those are material facts that affect what the property is worth to you. Sellers in this position generally understand that the same issue will arise with any other buyer, which often makes renegotiation constructive rather than adversarial.
Request the seller resolves the issue before completion
In some cases — particularly where planning consent or building regulations approval is missing — the seller can take steps to resolve the issue before contracts are exchanged. This might involve applying for retrospective consent, obtaining a regularisation certificate, or providing evidence of compliance. When buying a house, having the seller resolve a problem before exchange is preferable to relying on indemnity insurance after the fact, because it removes the underlying uncertainty rather than simply insuring against it.
Take out indemnity insurance
Indemnity insurance is one of the most commonly used solutions to a conveyancing search problem where the underlying issue cannot be fully resolved but the risk can be quantified and managed. It is most frequently used for legal defects — missing planning documentation, breaches of covenant, absent building regulations completion certificates, and chancel repair liability. The policy protects the buyer (and their mortgage lender) against any financial loss arising from the issue in the future.
The cost of indemnity insurance is usually modest — often a one-off premium of a few hundred pounds — and it is standard practice for the seller to meet that cost where the issue relates to their ownership or works carried out during their tenure. The policy stays with the property and will be passed on to any future buyer.
Withdraw from the purchase
In the most serious cases, the right decision may be to walk away from the purchase. If property search results reveal significant ground instability, high flood risk in an area that cannot be insured, major planned infrastructure nearby that will materially affect the property’s value or your enjoyment of it, or legal issues that cannot be resolved through indemnity or renegotiation, withdrawing before exchange protects you from a much more costly situation later. The legal costs incurred up to that point will not be recoverable, but they are a small fraction of what a serious property problem could cost post-completion.
What a conveyancing search problem does not mean
It is worth being clear about what a flag in your search results does not necessarily mean. Firstly, it does not mean the property is fundamentally flawed. The vast majority of conveyancing search problems are manageable — they require investigation, advice, and often a practical solution, but they do not make the property unbuyable.
Secondly, finding an issue at the search stage is far better than discovering it after completion. One of the primary purposes of searches when buying a house is to surface these problems while you still have choices and leverage. A buyer who discovers after moving in that an extension lacks building regulations approval has far fewer options than one who discovers it before exchange. Searches are a safeguard, and the problems they reveal are problems you are in a position to deal with.
Thirdly, not every adverse entry in a search is a genuine problem. A recorded planning application from a decade ago that was refused, a tree preservation order in a garden you had no intention of changing, or a minor covenant that does not affect your planned use of the property may all appear on search results but carry no meaningful consequence for your purchase. Your solicitor’s role is to interpret those results in the context of your specific situation — separating the issues that require action from those that are merely informational.
Get the right advice when buying a house
Interpreting property search results accurately and advising on the right course of action is one of the most important things a conveyancing solicitor does. The difference between a problem that derails a purchase and one that is resolved efficiently and fairly often comes down to the experience of the solicitor handling the transaction — and how quickly they identify and communicate the issue to their client. Our residential conveyancing team works with buyers across England and Wales, ordering the right searches for each property, explaining the results clearly, and advising on every available option when a conveyancing search problem arises.
If you have received search results that concern you, or if you are in the early stages of a purchase and want to understand the process before it begins, get in touch with our team for a straightforward discussion about your situation — no jargon, no obligation.
Need advice on a conveyancing search problem?
Issues flagged in property searches do not always stop a purchase, but they do need to be understood properly. Our solicitors review search results, explain your options, and help you decide whether to proceed, renegotiate, or withdraw with confidence.
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