Home Information Pack Searches Explained ?

The  conveyancing searches within Home Information Pack are  a set of standard and basic searches  need by the  conveyancing lawyer and conveyancing solicitor alike when acting for your purchaser, assuming of course you find a buyer.  The Home Information Pack will contain a local authority search ( LAS ) which is raised with the local council ( often conducted by a personal search company ) and  a drainage and water search with the water authority. Please be aware that searches are intended only to cover the legal aspects of a conveyancing purchase.

The Home Information Pack searches contain relevant information regarding the property, for example whether or not the road serving it is a publicly adopted highway in the immediate vicinity, whether it is subject to any enforcement notices .

A purchaser’s conveyancing solicitor may need to do more searches over and above those contained in the Home Information Pack  as they may deem that the conveyancing searches within the Home Information Pack are not comprehensive enough -  although please note that the seller is not obliged for the Home Information Pack  to have  any conveyancing searches other than the Local and Water Searches .

There are instances where the conveyancing  searches  supplied by a Home Information Pack Provider within a  Home Information Pack  have been issued by unregulated or uninsured parties or the searches are considered to  have expired under Council for Mortgage Lenders Instructions to Conveyancing Lawyers . It will be for the purchaser’s  conveyancing solicitor or conveyancing lawyer  to remedy the situation by way of  indemnity insurance covering the  mortgage lender or by obtaining fresh  conveyancing searches.

The Council for Mortgage Lenders’ ( CML ) requirements  state “all conveyancing searches a prudent solicitor would carry out” are required in a purchase conveyancing transaction and in this regard where the Home Information Pack  does not provide “all the” conveyancing  searches, such Chancel Check Searches or an Environmental Search.

Supplemental  specialist conveyancing (searches  i.e non Home Information Pack Searches )   depending on location of the property may apply  in accordance with the CML instructions to Conveyancing Lawyers. Such additional and specialist non Home Information Pack  searches depend on the location of the property. If the property is next to a or river or canal, then a British Waterways search should be considered.