What are Water and Drainage Searches and why are they important?

Find out where the water supply comes from and whether there are any drains that might affect your future plans.

Are they mandatory?

Yes, unless you are buying without a mortgage. When you are buying with a mortgage, the conveyancing solicitor has to follow a set of standard instructions defined in The UK Finance Mortgage Lender’s Handbook.

The handbook comes in two parts, the first part applies to all UK Finance members –members of the organisation represent 97% of lending in the UK.

Part 2 contains a section for each member, detailing their requirements. This is where your conveyancer will find the list of which searches are required by your particular lender. In most cases the minimum required will be:

  1. Land registry searches - (both Register and Title Plan)
  2. Local search - either Regulated or Council (both LLC1 and CON29)
  3. Water and Drainage - Regulated or CON29DW
  4. Environmental

Further requirements include, but aren’t limited to:

  • Flood reports
  • Coal mining/Brine reports
  • China clay reports
  • Radon gas reports
  • Chancel repair liability reports (if the last purchase was before 12/10/13)
  • Canal and river search
  • Ground stability reports
  • Commons registration search
  • Property development reports

In addition to this, another reason you need this report is that you need to know what length of drainage you are responsible for and how much is the responsibility of the water company so you can decide how much insurance cover you need.

Water and drainage searches
Water and drainage searches

When are they ordered?

These searches are in the list of searches that should be ordered as soon as you appoint your conveyancing solicitor: as a minimum this includes Land Registry and Local Searches, Water and Drainage Searches, an Environmental Search, a Flood Risk Report and any specifically required searches based on geograph, such as Radon Gas, Mining or China Clay searches .

One of the first things your conveyancer will do is ask you for money ‘on account’ in order to pay for these searches.

What do they tell you?

The details in the Drainage and Water search will tell you how water is provided to the property you are hoping to buy. It will give information on the sewer connections and water supply. If the property is not connected to the mains and public drainage system, you will need to consider the extra costs of maintaining and running such a property.

It will also give details on whether there are any public drains on the property. This is important because it affects the extent and design of any extension or other building works that you might be planning for the future.

If these drains run underneath where you are planning an extension, you will need the permission of the water supplier before you can start building works.
This search consists of enquiries made to the local water company and consists of:

  • Who owns and maintains the sewers, drains & piping
  • Whether the property is connected to a public water supply and sewer
  • Whether the water supply is metered or rateable
  • The location of public sewer and drainage pipes
  • Whether you’ll need permission from the water company to extend the home

Are there different types?

Yes, one that is produced by the water company themselves and one that is provided by a specialist search company, likely to be the same ones who provide the Regulated Local Authority Searches.
 

CON29DW Enquiry

These used to be known as official drainage and water searches and are provided by the 10 local water companies of England and Wales, in line with standard enquiries (questions) created by The Law Society. Turnaround is usually quick: at the date of this article being published, the con29dw.co.uk website was recording the average turn around as 20 hours and 5 minutes.

The report contains the detailed answers to 25 standard questions covering sewerage and water asset information to sewer flooding history and connection information. Because the information is provided by the water companies themselves, they set the prices, and these vary from region to region.

Regulated Drainage and Water Searches

Previously known as a personal water searches, these are created by the specialist search company and pricing is likely to be more consistent across the country.

Under sections 198 and 199 of the Water Industry Act (1991), public water and sewer records are available for inspection free of charge. By going into a water company office, specialist search providers are able to produce copies of the records required to answer the enquiries.

What do they cost?

Costs follow a similar structure to local searches: it depends on the location of your house and whether you’re buying a CON29DW (or official) or a Regulated Drainage and Water Search.

CON29DW

The searches for the water companies of England and Wales are that provided by:

  1. Geodesys (Anglian Water region)
  2. Northumbrian Water Property Solutions
  3. Safemove (Yorkshire Water region)
  4. Severn Trent Searches
  5. Source for Searches (South West Water region)
  6. Southern Water LandSearch
  7. Thames Water Property Searches
  8. United Utilities (North West)
  9. Welsh Water
  10. Wessex Searches

These water companies provide a suite of the searches needed when you move (Land Registry, Local, Environmental etc) as well as their own water search. Costs for the CON29DW vary between £45-£100, depending on area and speed. For example, Geodesys charges, including VAT are:

CON29DW:                                                      £48.00
CON29DW Premium (24-hour service):          £66.00
Severn Trent charge:
CON29DW:                                                      £56.40
Expedited CON29DW (Same day delivery):   £82.00
For a standard CON29DW, United Utilities charge £54.59 and Welsh Water charge £28.20.

Regulated Water Search

If your solicitor is ordering a Regulated Search (see above) the price is more likely to be fixed because the companies providing these are national and they have more control over the pricing.

How long do they last?

When acting on a conveyance, your solicitor has to follow The UK Finance Mortgage Lender’s Handbook, it says that searches must be no more than 6 months old on completion.

If you are thinking of buying or selling your home, you may find some of these services useful: