Buying a home near an overhead power line, electricity substation or gas pipeline is more common than many buyers realise.

Energy infrastructure is woven into the landscape across the UK – urban and rural alike – and its presence near a property can affect everything from what can be built to how easily the home can be mortgaged.

Understanding what’s there, and what it means, is an important part of due diligence, so here it all is, in five minutes.

What counts as energy infrastructure?

Energy infrastructure covers a broad range of apparatus and installations that form part of the networks used to generate, transmit and distribute energy. In the context of residential property, the most commonly encountered types include:

• Overhead electricity lines – from high -voltage national grid transmission lines carried on tall steel pylons, to lower -voltage distribution lines on wooden poles that run through residential streets and across gardens
• Underground cables – electricity cables buried beneath land, which may cross a property’s boundary without being visible at the surface
• Electricity substations – installations that step voltage up or down across the network, ranging from large fenced compounds to small green metal cabinets on the pavement
• Gas transmission pipelines – high -pressure pipelines carrying gas across the country, typically buried and marked at regular intervals with yellow warning signs
• Gas distribution mains – lower -pressure pipes serving individual streets and properties
• Oil and other fuel pipelines – less common but present in certain areas, particularly near refineries, ports and airports

What rights do network operators have?

Energy infrastructure doesn’t appear on land by accident. Network operators – companies like National Grid, Scottish Power Energy Networks, Northern Gas Networks and others – hold legal rights over land where their apparatus sits or crosses. These rights typically take the form of easements or wayleaves registered against the title to the land.

An easement gives the operator a permanent right to keep their apparatus in place and to access the land for maintenance and inspection. A wayleave is a similar right, usually granted by agreement with the landowner, which in some cases can be terminated – though the operator may have statutory powers to insist on a replacement.

These rights travel with the land. A buyer purchasing a property with an overhead line crossing the garden, or a buried cable running beneath it, takes on the land subject to those rights. That can affect what they can build, where they can plant, and whether they can alter the ground in certain areas.

What are the practical implications for buyers?

The presence of energy infrastructure near a property has a number of potential implications worth understanding before exchange:

• Building restrictions – there are minimum safe clearance distances from overhead electricity lines within which construction is not permitted. The Health and Safety Executive publishes guidance on safe working distances, and network operators must be consulted before any work near overhead lines
• Mortgage and insurance – some lenders apply additional conditions or restrictions to properties within a certain distance of high -voltage overhead lines. Insurance can also be affected in some circumstances
• Permitted development – certain automatic permitted development rights may be affected by the presence of infrastructure rights over the land
• Aesthetic and amenity impact – high -voltage pylons and substations can affect outlook and, in some cases, market value, though the evidence on health effects from electromagnetic fields remains a subject of ongoing scientific review
• Underground apparatus – buyers planning landscaping, excavation or construction work need to know what’s below the ground before work starts. Striking a buried cable or pipeline can be dangerous and costly

How is energy infrastructure identified?

A CON29O optional enquiry can reveal whether any electricity lines, apparatus or rights are recorded by the local authority. For underground pipelines, the Health and Safety Executive’s pipeline database and individual network operator records are the primary sources.

Where apparatus is visible – a pylon, a substation, a pole – its presence will be obvious. Where it’s buried or where easements and wayleaves exist in the title, they should appear in the title register and associated documents provided as part of the conveyancing process.

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Energy infrastructure is a fixed feature of the landscape – it doesn’t move, and the rights attached to it don’t disappear when a property changes hands. For buyers, the key questions are what’s there, what rights the operator holds, and what that means for how the land can be used. Getting clear answers before exchange avoids the kind of surprises that are significantly harder to deal with after completion.

Not every change to a home requires a planning application. In England, a set of automatic permissions – known as permitted development rights – allows homeowners to carry out certain works without needing approval from their local planning authority.

It’s a useful framework that streamlines minor development. But it comes with important limits, and those limits aren’t always obvious until something goes wrong.

Permit yourself a cup of tea, and read our latest article:

What are permitted development rights?

Permitted development rights are a form of planning permission granted not by the local authority on a case -by -case basis, but by Parliament through secondary legislation. They allow specified categories of development to proceed automatically, provided the works fall within defined parameters – size limits, height restrictions, proximity to boundaries, and so on.

For residential properties, permitted development rights cover a range of common works including rear extensions, loft conversions, outbuildings, porches, solar panels, and certain changes of use. The idea is that minor, low -impact development shouldn’t need to go through the full planning application process.

What are the limits?

Permitted development rights are not unlimited. The permitted development order sets out precise criteria, and works that exceed those criteria require a full planning application. Key limitations include:

• Size and height thresholds – extensions must fall within maximum floor area and height limits that vary depending on the type of dwelling and its location
• Proximity to boundaries – outbuildings and extensions must generally be set back from the boundary, with stricter rules for side elevations
• Designated areas – properties in conservation areas, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks and World Heritage Sites have significantly restricted permitted development rights, with many works requiring full permission that would be automatic elsewhere
• Listed buildings – permitted development rights do not apply to listed buildings, where listed building consent is required for any works affecting the character of the structure
• Article 4 Directions – local planning authorities can remove permitted development rights in specific areas through an Article 4 Direction, often used in conservation areas or to protect the character of particular streets

Why does this matter for buyers?

Works carried out under permitted development rights don’t require a planning application – but they do need to actually fall within the permitted development criteria. A loft conversion or extension built without planning permission isn’t automatically compliant with permitted development. If the works exceed the parameters, they represent an unauthorised development, regardless of whether the seller believed they were permitted.

This is a more common issue than many buyers expect. Extensions built over the permitted size limit, outbuildings in the wrong location, or works in a conservation area that required full planning permission – all of these can surface during the conveyancing process and require resolution before exchange.

Can permitted development compliance be confirmed formally?

Yes – a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC) provides formal confirmation from the local planning authority that works were lawful at the time they were carried out. Where a seller has carried out works under permitted development rights, an LDC is increasingly requested as part of the conveyancing process. Where one doesn’t exist, the conveyancer will need to assess whether applying for one, or arranging a planning indemnity policy, is the more appropriate route. For a full explanation of how LDCs work, see our dedicated guide: Five Minutes On… Lawful Development Certificates.

What about future changes to permitted development rights?

Permitted development rights are a product of legislation and have changed significantly over time – and continue to do so. Rights that didn’t exist a few years ago may now apply, and rights that buyers are counting on for future development may be amended or removed. Buyers with specific plans for a property should always check the current position rather than assuming that what was permissible for a previous owner remains so today.

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Permitted development rights are a genuine benefit for homeowners – they make routine improvements straightforward and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. But they operate within a framework of rules that need to be understood and checked. Works that look like permitted development aren’t always compliant, and a buyer who inherits an unauthorised extension or outbuilding inherits the problem that comes with it. Getting clarity on the permitted development position of a property before exchange is always time well spent.

Planning permission is often spoken about as though it’s a simple yes or no; either the council approved it or they didn’t.

The reality is more nuanced. Most planning permissions come attached with conditions, and those conditions can be just as important as the permission itself. For buyers, understanding what conditions exist on a property – and whether they’ve been complied with – is an essential part of due diligence.

Here’s what you need to know, in just a five minute read:

What is a planning condition?

When a local planning authority grants permission for development, it frequently does so subject to conditions. These are requirements that must be met either before work starts, during construction, or after completion. They’re a standard tool of the planning system, used to make development acceptable in circumstances where an outright refusal would be difficult to justify but an unconditional approval would be inappropriate.

Conditions are attached to the planning permission itself – not to the applicant. That means they travel with the land. A buyer purchasing a property that was built, extended or altered subject to planning conditions inherits whatever obligations or restrictions those conditions created.

What kinds of conditions are commonly attached?

Planning conditions vary widely depending on the nature of the development and the concerns of the local planning authority. Common examples include:

• Pre -commencement conditions – requiring specific details to be agreed with the council before any work begins, such as materials, drainage schemes or construction management plans
• Occupancy restrictions – limiting who can live in a property, for example agricultural worker dwellings that must be occupied by someone employed in agriculture
• Use restrictions – preventing a property or part of it from being used for certain purposes, such as prohibiting a garage from being converted into habitable accommodation
• Landscaping and boundary conditions – requiring specific planting, screening or boundary treatments to be installed and maintained
• Parking and access conditions – specifying how many parking spaces must be provided, or requiring that access arrangements are maintained in a particular way
• Hours of operation – relevant where a planning permission relates to a mixed -use or commercial element of a property
• Permitted development restrictions – removing the automatic planning rights that would ordinarily apply, requiring a full application for works that would otherwise not need one

Why do conditions matter for buyers?

A condition that hasn’t been complied with is a planning breach – even if the original applicant is long gone and the buyer had nothing to do with it. Local planning authorities have enforcement powers that can be exercised against the current owner of land, regardless of who carried out the original works.

Equally, a condition that restricts what the buyer can do with the property after purchase can significantly affect its value and usefulness. A buyer who plans to run a business from home, convert a garage, or extend a property may find that a condition attached to the original permission prevents exactly that – or requires a fresh application to the council.

How are planning conditions identified?

The planning history of a property – including any conditions attached to permissions – should be disclosed through the CON29 Required search and through the seller’s property information form. Planning decisions, including their conditions, are also publicly available on the local planning authority’s online register.

A conveyancer reviewing a property with a recent planning history should check not just whether permission was granted, but what conditions were attached and whether evidence of compliance exists. For conditions requiring pre -commencement approval of details, a discharge of conditions notice from the council provides the necessary confirmation.

What if a condition hasn’t been complied with?

Where a condition breach is identified, the conveyancer will need to assess the risk. Some breaches are historic and unlikely to attract enforcement action – local authorities generally have a ten -year window to enforce against breaches relating to the use of a building, and four years for operational development. Others may be more recent and carry genuine enforcement risk.

In cases where the breach is identified but the risk is considered manageable, a planning indemnity policy can provide protection. These policies are widely available and can be arranged relatively quickly, though they don’t resolve the underlying breach – they simply insure against its financial consequences.

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Planning conditions are a routine part of how the planning system works – but routine doesn’t mean unimportant. A condition that hasn’t been discharged, or one that restricts what a buyer can do with their new home, is exactly the kind of issue that should surface before exchange rather than after. It’s one of many reasons why a thorough review of planning history is never wasted time.

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.

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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.

Every conveyancer knows the feeling. The file is progressing well, deadlines are manageable, and then something surfaces in the search data that doesn’t quite fit.

A conflicting record. A missing detail. A query that arrives too late to resolve cleanly. These moments rarely come from nowhere. More often they’re the predictable consequence of a gap in the data, something that was available but not caught, or available but not ordered.

Here are four of the risks that appear most consistently, and what good search data looks like in each case.

Planning history that doesn’t travel with the property

Planning records are among the most commonly misread elements in a local authority search – not because the data is wrong, but because it requires interpretation. A restriction that applied to a previous use, a consent that was granted but never implemented, a condition attached to an older permission that the current owner has quietly ignored – none of these are hidden. They’re in the data. But they require someone to look at the full picture rather than the headline.

The risk is greatest on properties with complex histories: former commercial uses, extensions built under permitted development, conversions from one use class to another. In conservation areas, the detail required is even more precise – not just whether works were approved, but whether they were approved under the correct consent route.

The search data should surface this. If it doesn’t, the problem isn’t the planning history – it’s the search.

Rights of way that aren’t visible on site

Public rights of way are a good example of a risk that feels theoretical until it isn’t. A right of way that crosses a garden or driveway doesn’t affect every transaction – but when it does affect one, and the buyer wasn’t told, the consequences are significant and the firm’s position is uncomfortable.

The challenge is that rights of way aren’t always visible on the ground. A path that hasn’t been walked in years is still legally protected. A route that’s been physically blocked by a previous owner remains on the definitive map. The seller may be entirely unaware.

A local authority search will include rights of way data, but the quality of that data varies considerably depending on the source and how recently it was verified. Knowing where your provider’s data comes from, and how current it is, matters more for this particular risk than almost any other.

Chancel repair liability on older rural stock

Chancel repair liability is one of those risks that experienced conveyancers are well aware of and occasionally encounter in practice. The liability, which can require a property owner to contribute to the cost of repairing the chancel of a local parish church, dates from medieval land law and is tied to the land rather than the owner’s beliefs or connection to the church.

Since 2013, unregistered chancel repair liability is no longer an overriding interest, meaning it must be registered to bind a purchaser. But for properties that changed hands before that date, registered liability can still exist and still bite.

The appropriate response is straightforward, a chancel search where the risk exists, and indemnity insurance where it’s warranted. The less straightforward part is identifying which properties warrant the extra step. Rural properties, older stock, and land near historic parish churches are the obvious candidates. The search data should prompt the question.

Flood risk that isn’t reflected in the asking price

Flooding is increasingly well understood as a property risk, but the gap between what a standard environmental search flags and what a property is genuinely exposed to has widened as climate patterns have shifted. A property that last flooded in 1987 may carry a lower risk rating than one that flooded in 2020 – but both carry risk, and neither is necessarily reflected in what the seller has disclosed.

The specific risk that catches firms out most often isn’t river or coastal flooding, which tends to be well mapped. It’s surface water flooding, the kind that results from drainage systems being overwhelmed during heavy rainfall, which is harder to model, less consistently reported, and increasingly common in areas that haven’t historically been considered at risk.

An environmental search that draws on current flood mapping, drainage records, and historical incident data gives a materially different picture from one that relies on older datasets. The difference matters when you’re advising a client on whether to proceed and on what terms.

What connects all four

None of these risks are obscure. Every conveyancer reading this will have encountered at least one of them in practice. What connects them is that they’re all data problems before they’re legal problems – and in each case, the quality and currency of the search data determines whether the issue surfaces at the right moment or the wrong one.

The search isn’t just a regulatory requirement. It’s the foundation on which advice is built. It’s worth knowing exactly what yours is built on.

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For a closer look at how search data quality affects conveyancing outcomes – and what to look for when assessing your current provider – download our guide.

If you’re advising a buyer, the new TA6 is less about what’s asked, and more about what isn’t.

The newly released 6th edition reduces seller disclosure, but it doesn’t reduce buyer risk. Knowing which gaps now need to be filled elsewhere is key.

For our latest Five Minutes On… article, we tackle the much discussed TA6 form. Lets get into it.

What the new TA6 no longer asks… and why that matters

The 6th edition strips out nine sections that appeared in the 5th edition. Several of them are directly relevant to search-based due diligence.

• Coalfield or mining area – sellers are no longer asked to disclose whether a property sits in a former coalfield or mining area. That risk doesn’t go away. A CON29M or specialist mining search remains the appropriate way to surface it.
• Coastal erosion – removed from the TA6 entirely. For properties in at-risk coastal zones, an environmental or specialist coastal erosion search is the only reliable source of this information.
• Building safety – questions around cladding, remediation and the Building Safety Act have been taken out of the standard form. For leasehold properties in scope, the TA7 5th edition (updated alongside the TA6) picks up some of this – but the position on leaseholder deed of certificate, service charges and remediation funding still needs careful handling.
• Restrictive covenants – sellers are no longer prompted to disclose these. Title investigation and, where appropriate, indemnity insurance remain the tools to address gaps here.

What hasn’t changed

The seller’s legal obligations haven’t moved. Misrepresentation and caveat emptor still apply. The form being shorter doesn’t reduce the buyer’s exposure to undisclosed risks – it just means fewer of those risks are being asked about upfront.

The Law Society has confirmed that solicitors’ professional liability position is unchanged. A shorter form doesn’t reduce the duty of care.

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A well-constructed search pack was always the right approach. The TA6 6th edition makes the case for it even more clearly, with less being captured at the seller disclosure stage, searches are increasingly where the picture gets completed.

With less being asked of sellers upfront, it falls to structured due diligence to carry the weight of those missing disclosures. The TA6 has been streamlined, not the risks that sit behind it, and that distinction matters when you’re building a search pack that genuinely protects your buyer.

The OneSearch team can help you identify which searches fill the gaps for any transaction. Explore the full Five Minutes On… library here.