The service will be provided through the Environment Agency’s commercial unit, ‘Property Search’, and will be available both direct and through a network of national distributors.
The initiative underlines the Environment Agency’s intention to be a contender within the UK’s £200m property search market. (OFT market size estimate)
Through its commercial unit, Property Search, the Environment Agency is stepping up its provision of property reports for residential property conveyancing professionals.
The Environment Agency has continually updated the quality and availability of data in recent years and has invested in a technology platform that allows for automated data processing and collation. Although much of the information can be accessed free of charge, through the Environment Agency’s website, the new and improved service collates all available Environment Agency data, incorporates specialist data from other sources, indicates areas of concern and provides PI cover to meet funding and insurance stipulations.
Developed in consultation with the legal profession, the Complete Property Search Report has been designed for solicitors and other professionals involved in residential property transactions. Reports will include an Environment Agency endorsed risk summary and guidance on what further action may be necessary.
The Complete Property Search Report – which draws on information from a range of specialist data providers as well as using the Environment Agency’s own information sources – will include historical land use, flood risk and contaminated land issues. Utilising the Environment Agency’s new enhanced Flood Map, the Report will advise prospective homebuyers whether their area is at risk and whether the risk is considered to be low, moderate or significant. The Flood Map uses the latest information to give a picture of flood risk in England and Wales available to the public and will be updated quarterly.
The Complete Property Search report focuses on a 25 metre radius – the standard size of a housing plot in the UK – as opposed to the previous 500 metre capability so that the information relates more closely to the area people are interested in. It is available to solicitors, property professionals and intermediaries advising people on a house purchase.
Contaminated land data will be sourced from leading environmental consultants, GroundSure Ltd. The latter’s ability to provide high definition searches, down to 1:2,500 in some areas of the country, can be supplemented by interpretative analysis if required.
Reports for 90 per cent of sites in England and Wales can be produced within 24 hours.* The basic on-line service will be available around the clock, seven days a week, for under £50. Reports can be requested direct from the Environment Agency or via its distribution network.
According to Ann Conway-Hughes, Managing Director of Property Search, the Complete Property Search Report brings a wide range of new benefits to inform house purchasing decisions: “The Complete Property Search Report is about giving people the opportunity to make better informed decisions and, ultimately, to reduce the risk involved in buying a new home. With the improved flood mapping data we can offer and with turnaround times for producing the Complete Property Search Report significantly improved, we are enabling people to obtain assured, accurate information and to do so very straightforwardly.”
Jane Milne, Head of Household and Property at the Association of British Insurers (ABI), commented: "Consumers need to understand flood risk when making important decisions about a house purchase. The ABI believes that this information should be a required component of the forthcoming Home Information Pack. It is reassuring that huge advances are being made in mapping flood risk and making this information accessible to the public."
