On NLIS you can order a variety of different Environmental Reports to suit any sort of residential and commercial property or land. An Environmental Report contains a professional assessment of a property or piece of land in relation to the nearby environmental factors and will state whether there needs to be any further action relating to any issues that were identified. An Environmental Report gives details of historic land use, flooding information, contaminated land, radon gas, mining, ground stability and much more within a given radius of a property or piece of land which could adversely affect it. Whether you are purchasing or selling a residential, commercial, agricultural property or purchasing land for development, there is a suitable Environmental Report for you.

Which Residential Environmental Report is best for you?

GroundSure Homescreen – This Environmental Report provides clear and concise advice on the risks associated with a property being determined as Contaminated Land under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This Environmental Report also includes a ‘screen’ against the potential risk of flooding as well as ground stability information.

GroundSure Flood – This Environmental Report contains a wide range of data that considers many types of flood risks in addition to an opinion on the likely availability of insurance for flood risk homes based upon data utilised extensively by the Association of British Insurers.

GroundSure Homebuyers – This Environmental Report is a combination of both the Groundsure Homescreen and Groundsure Flood therefore it contains essential information that a home buyer would need to identify any problems with a residential property.

GroundSure Estate – This Environmental Report is designed to Identify the potential environmental risks and resulting liabilities of any large-site residential purchase. This Environmental Report is the most cost effective conveyancing search of its kind and has been created for your client’s protection because it covers an entire site larger than a 25m radius because a GroundSure Estate report uses a polygon base rather than standard point.

Groundsure Planning – If you want to be sure your client’s dream home or investment doesn’t become a nightmare, you need the most comprehensive insight into likely local developments and their possible impact on property values which is what this Environmental Report offers. It covers both Residential and Commercial planning applications within a 500m radius of the property, from house extensions to larger projects. This Environmental Report also lists detailed planning project descriptions, application status information, points of local interest including transport, recreation, retail and entertainment, telecommunication masts and mobile transmitters which is data unique to GroundSure and league tables for both primary and secondary schools up to 2km from the property.

Choose your Commercial Environmental Report

GroundSure Screening – This Environmental Report is designed specifically for lower value commercial transactions, multi-site property portfolios and also for large estates and landholdings such as agricultural estates, country clubs, wind farms etc. This Environmental Report is designed to assist solicitors in addressing their obligations under the Law Society Warning Card on Contaminated Land.

GroundSure Review – This Environmental Report gives your commercial clients premium due diligence in their property transactions. This is the most high;y detailed Environmental Report of its type available on the market which combines standard environmental liability issues with a flood-risk assessment. This Environmental Report offers a clear and concise five-tier risk ranking for any commercial property. It factors in the impact of any environmental perils on the property’s valuation and lending-security status. This Environmental Report also supports your professional requirements under The Law Society and RICS Red Book and is accepted by all major UK lenders.

Groundsure Planview – This Environmental Report gives an advance insight on local development and construction projects can have a material impact on the value your client places on a property in an area and give them a real commercial advantage.

Groundsure Agricultural – This specialist Environmental Report has been created for farmers when a a clear understanding of any environmental risks, and resulting liabilities is needed because it may may affect their purchases. The GroundSure Agricultural Environmental Report is a dedicated search offering enhanced precision and a view on the land’s suitability as bank-loan security. This Environmental Report also provides more precision than standard commercial profiles with its wide-area polygon search which will provide you with an essential insight on past and current use of the land and site layout.

NLIS also offer comibination packs for both the Residential and Commercial Environmental Report’s above.

What is Chancel Repair Liability?

If you are in the process of purchasing a property or a piece of land, a vital conveyancing report to have carried out is a Chancel Check Report. A Chancel Check Report checks to see if the property or land in question has a Chancel Repair Liability attached to it. This is a law dating back to medieval times when the country was under the reign of Henry VIII. Chancel Repair Liability was the monarch’s decision to dissolve the monasteries when he made himself the supreme head of the Church of England in 1534 and he imposed that churches were to be maintained by wealthy land owners.

Since then, the large estates of land have been broken down and developed into multiple private residences however, the Chancel Repair Liability has been passed down to the new properties. This law benefits around 5,200 pre-reformation churches in England and Wales and under the Land Registration Act 1925, Chancel Repair Liability is classified as an overriding interest in registered land. This means Chancel Repair Liability still exists without the land being registered.

What is a Chancel Check Report?

The reason why a Chancel Check Report is such an important conveyancing report is because Chancel Repair Liability means that property owners could be liable to pay for repairs to the local church and bills could potentially run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds. Some vicars call it a godsend but it has been known that a Chancel Repair has cost one couple over £200,000 towards the upkeep of their parish church. These homeowners are called lay rectors and if they had purchased a Chancel Check Report before purchasing the property they would have been aware of this potentially devastating law.

It is estimated that Chancel land accounts for 40% of all land in England and Wales but there is no single central register which can be used to identify all Chancel Repair Liabilities. NLIS can provide you with a Chancel Check Report where the property or deeds for a piece of land are checked along with the Land Registry and current landowners for relevant information. A search of the records will help to identify the likelihood of Chancel Liability in respect of a given property or pieve of land as well as the proportion of the total cost to be paid in respect of each liable area. However, the actual amount to be paid cannot be known until repairs are carried out on the church and the costs established.

You can purchase a Chancel Check Report from NLIS which informs you if the property or land you are looking to purchase is liable for Chancel Repair. There are two different outcomes when a Chancel Check Report has been purchased. The first is a certificate which puts the purchaser/vendor in the clear because there is no Chancel Repair Liability on the property or land in question and the second report confirms that there is a real potential to be held liable for Chancel Repairs. If this is the case, insurance can then be purchased from NLIS to cover the owner of the property in the event of a Chancel Repair Liability claim.

Don’t live in the Medevil times, come to the 21st centurty and purchase a Chancel Check Report today to find out if your property or land carries Chancel Repair Liability!