Most buyers know a local search is happening somewhere in the background of their conveyance.
Far fewer know there’s a second layer of questions their conveyancer can ask – and that those questions can surface some of the most significant risks a property will ever face. The CON29 Optional schedule is one of the most underappreciated tools in the conveyancer’s kit.
Here’s what it is, what it covers, and why it matters.
What is the CON29O?
A standard local search is made up of two distinct parts. The CON29 Required questions are raised with every local authority as a matter of course – they cover the essentials of planning history, road adoption status, enforcement notices, and a range of statutory designations that apply to most properties in most locations.
The CON29O – the Optional schedule – is something different. It’s a separate set of enquiries that must be specifically selected and individually paid for. They don’t go automatically. The conveyancer reviews the property, considers its location and characteristics, and decides which optional questions are worth raising.
The word “optional” can be misleading. It doesn’t mean unimportant – it means targeted. Some of the most consequential information about a property will only appear if the right optional question is asked.
What does the CON29O cover?
The optional schedule spans a wide range of designations, consents and notices that fall outside the scope of the standard search. The full list includes:
- Road proposals by private bodies – schemes being promoted by developers or private interests that haven’t yet been adopted by the highway authority, but which could still affect access or land value
- Public right of way amendments – proposed changes to the definitive map that haven’t been finalised, which could affect access across or around the land
- Pipelines – gas mains, hazardous substance pipelines and other below -ground infrastructure that may cross or run adjacent to the boundary
- Hazardous substance consents – whether planning consent exists to store or handle hazardous materials in the vicinity of the property
- Environmental and pollution notices – formal notices served under environmental protection legislation, which may indicate contamination or regulatory action nearby
- Hedgerow notices – whether hedgerows on or bordering the land carry legal protection and what restrictions that places on removal or alteration
- Scheduled Ancient Monuments – whether the land itself, or land immediately adjacent, has been designated as a scheduled monument and what that means for any works
- World Heritage Sites – whether the property sits within, or on the edge of, a World Heritage Site designation or its associated buffer zone
- Energy infrastructure – the presence of overhead lines, substations, pylons or related apparatus on or near the land, and any rights or restrictions attached to them
- Wind and solar farm proximity – proposed or consented renewable energy installations that may affect outlook, noise levels or land use in the surrounding area
Each of these can have a direct bearing on what the buyer can do with the property, how easily they can develop or alter it, and in some cases whether it can be mortgaged or insured on standard terms.
Why doesn’t the standard search cover all of this?
The CON29 Required questions are designed to capture the designations and notices that are most commonly relevant across the widest range of properties. They work well for the majority of transactions. But the optional schedule exists precisely because property is varied – a rural smallholding near an ancient hillfort raises entirely different due diligence questions to a terraced house in a suburban street.
A standard search can return completely clean while a CON29O question reveals a scheduled monument beneath the garden, a high -voltage transmission line overhead, or a gas pipeline running through the boundary. None of those things will appear unless the question is specifically raised. The standard search isn’t failing – it’s just not designed to go that deep without prompting.
Who decides which optional questions to raise?
The conveyancer makes that judgement call. In practice, good conveyancers consider the type of property, its setting, its planning history, and any obvious features of the surrounding area before deciding which optional questions are worth the additional cost and time.
A property near Stonehenge warrants a World Heritage Site enquiry. A rural property in an area of intensive agriculture may warrant a hedgerow notice check. A house near a former industrial site may warrant an environmental notice search even if contaminated land isn’t flagged on the standard return.
Buyers are entitled to ask their conveyancer which optional questions are being raised – and why. A brief conversation at the start of the transaction can make sure nothing obviously relevant is being missed.
What happens if an optional question reveals something?
The local authority’s response to a CON29O question will either confirm that nothing is recorded, or set out what is. Where something is recorded – a scheduled monument designation, an energy infrastructure right of way, a pipeline easement – the conveyancer will need to consider what it means for the transaction.
In some cases the information is noted and the transaction proceeds without issue. In others it may require further investigation, specialist advice, or an indemnity policy. In rare cases it can affect whether the buyer’s lender is willing to proceed on standard mortgage terms.
The point is that knowing is always better than not knowing. A designation that’s disclosed before exchange is a manageable piece of information. One that surfaces after completion can be significantly more disruptive.
The CON29O isn’t a box-ticking exercise and it isn’t bureaucratic padding. It’s a targeted set of enquiries that can surface risks the standard local search was never designed to catch – risks that are real, that affect real properties, and that can have lasting consequences for buyers who weren’t told about them.
If your conveyancer is raising optional questions, they’re doing their job properly. The answers are worth reading carefully, and if something comes back, it’s worth asking what it means before the keys change hands.
