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.

Try a real SQE1 question

Straight from the bank. Answer it, then see the worked reasoning and the tutor — no signup to try.

A woman is the treasurer of a small amateur football club. Members pay £20 each month in cash, which the woman is instructed by the club's rules to bank into the club's dedicated account within seven days. One month she receives £200 in subscriptions but, being short of money, uses the cash to pay her own gas bill. She intends to replace the £200 from her wages before anyone notices, and she does in fact pay an equivalent £200 into the club account two weeks later. The woman is charged with theft of the £200. Which of the following is the strongest basis for finding the property belonged to another at the time she used it?

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