Official Drainage or Water Search

Why do I need this?

When you sell a house your conveyancer or solicitor will make a search of the local water company that serves the property to ensure there are no hidden surprises, such as whether the foul and surface water drainage main drains etc are publicly maintained (otherwise you are likely to have to contribute to its upkeep and maintenance) and so forth. Any sewers within the property's boundaries will also be detailed.

Clearly these are matters which a purchaser will be interest to find out about before commiting to the deal.

Why can't you carry out a Personal Search as you do with a Local Authority Search?

There is a little known fact contained with the legislation that prevents a personal drainage search being provided as part of the Home Information Pack. This means that only official drainage searches are permitted. All others are not compliant so are likely to be rejected and could ultimately prove costly with the imposition of fines.

Is there a downside?

Put simply - yes. Because its an official search, the cost is likely to be slightly more (usually about £20 more) and the timescale to turn it around may be increased by a few days. Be wary of anyone that offers to cut corners here.