FLK2 · Property Practice

Pre-contract searches & enquiries

SQE1 revision notes — the key rules, leading cases and common traps for this topic, in plain English and current to 2026.

PP.02 — Pre-contract Searches & Enquiries

Why they matter. Caveat emptor governs conveyancing: the seller has no general duty to disclose the property's physical condition or quality. The buyer must investigate. Searches and enquiries are how the buyer discovers defects before exchange — after exchange the buyer is locked in.

The seller's limited duty

Seller must disclose latent incumbrances/defects in title (third-party rights affecting title), but not physical/patent defects the buyer can see or discover.
Seller must not misrepresent. Replies to enquiries (TA6/CPSEs) can found a misrepresentation claim if untrue — answer "not so far as the seller is aware" honestly, never blindly. Misrepresentation Act 1967.
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regs 2008 (estate agents/sellers in consumer sales): banned misleading actions/omissions.

Standard searches (residential)

Local Land Charges (LLC1) + CON29 enquiries of the local authority — planning permissions, building regs, road status (adopted/maintained at public expense), tree preservation orders, enforcement/conditional planning. CON29O for optional extra enquiries.
Drainage & water (CON29DW) — foul/surface water drainage connected, public sewer within boundary.
Environmental (desktop) search — contaminated land, flood, landfill. Triggers Part IIA EPA 1990 liability awareness ("polluter pays", else current owner/occupier).
Chancel repair — post-Aston Cantlow (2003), buyers search; risk normally covered by indemnity insurance.
Mining/specialist searches where location demands (coal authority, tin, brine, etc.).
Pre-contract enquiries: residential = TA6 (Property Information) + TA10 (fittings); commercial = CPSEs.

Buyer's own physical inspection

Buyer/surveyor inspects for: physical defects, boundaries, and occupiers — anyone in actual occupation may have an overriding interest (LRA 2002 Sch 3 para 2; cf. Williams & Glyn's Bank v Boland). Inspection also reveals adverse possession or unregistered easements/rights.

Common SQE traps

Caveat emptor does not excuse failure to disclose title defects, nor protect against misrepresentation.
Search results bind the buyer's solicitor's advice, not the seller — a missed search is the solicitor's negligence.
Local search reveals public matters only; private rights need title investigation + inspection.
Reliance on an existing search: searches go stale (lender/practical priority period); usually re-do rather than rely.
SDLT is a post-completion matter (return + payment within 14 days of completion), not part of pre-contract searches — don't conflate.

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A woman is the treasurer of a small amateur football club. Members pay £20 each month in cash. Under the club rules she accepted on becoming treasurer, she must bank the subscriptions into the club's dedicated account within seven days. One month she receives £200 in subscriptions and spends the cash on her own gas bill that same day. She intends to replace the money from her wages before anyone notices, and pays an equivalent £200 into the club account two weeks later. Which statement best explains how section 5(3) of the Theft Act 1968 applies to the subscriptions when she pays the gas bill?

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