By Legal Futures Associate Landmark
Environmental risks play a crucial role in property transactions, and as conveyancers and solicitors, conducting thorough environmental searches is key to safeguarding your clients’ interests. Landmark has long been the trusted provider of comprehensive environmental search reports. Now, with our enhanced residential product portfolio, we cover all environmental risks included in every Landmark residential report—allowing you to choose the report best suited to you, from basic identification to full expert analysis.
Environmental risks play a crucial role in property transactions, and as conveyancers and solicitors, conducting thorough environmental searches is key to safeguarding your clients’ interests. Landmark has long been the trusted provider of comprehensive environmental search reports. Now, with our enhanced residential product portfolio, we cover all environmental risks included in every Landmark residential report—allowing you to choose the report best suited to you, from basic identification to full expert analysis.
In addition to providing a more flexible and thorough assessment, we’re excited to announce two major improvements: the inclusion of climate change modules in our Landmark’s EnviroSearch and RiskView reports, plus an innovative approach to coal risk assessment. These advancements ensure that you’re equipped to handle today’s environmental challenges more effectively than ever.
The key environmental risks every conveyancer should consider
- Contaminated Land
- Flood
- Coal Mining
- Climate Change
- Planning
- Ground Stability
- Radon
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Planning Constraints
These risks can significantly impact property value, insurability and enjoyment of living in, what might be, your dream home. Landmark’s enhanced portfolio provides reports tailored to different levels of risk assessment, giving conveyancers the flexibility to choose the depth of analysis that best fits their needs.
Introducing the ‘coal revolution’: the new way of searching for coal risk
One of the most significant improvements in our new product line-up is our reimagined approach to coal risk assessments. With Landmark’s coal revolution, you can expect faster, more accurate and more comprehensive coal risk assessments. The symbiosis between alert and full assessments in our reports, combined with the added security of our equivalent to a No Search Required Certificate with £1 million indemnity, sets a new industry standard for coal mining risk assessments.
Climate Change: now included in EnviroSearch and RiskView
In response to increasing concerns about climate change, we’ve also integrated our climate change modules into both Landmark EnviroSearch and RiskView products. These modules provide a forward-looking analysis of how climate change may impact a property over time, helping you and your clients understand potential long-term physical risks such as increased flooding, coastal erosion, as well as transitional risks such as energy efficiency of buildings. By incorporating climate change assessments, Landmark ensures that your due diligence is not just relevant for today but also for the future.
Landmark’s enhanced residential product portfolio: A closer look
Our enhanced suite of products is designed to meet the varied needs of conveyancers, from basic checks to detailed assessments. The three key products in this portfolio are:
- Homecheck Residential: This report provides an initial assessment across all key risks, identifying potential issues that may require further investigation. It offers an overview that helps you determine if more in-depth analysis is necessary and whether a supplementary report is needed.
- EnviroSearch Residential: This report offers a more detailed assessment, including the newly added climate change module. It provides a breakdown of risks and a full evaluation of each environmental peril, perfect for when more certainty is needed.
- RiskView Residential: Our most comprehensive product, RiskView Residential, includes full data assessments and expert analysis through our environmental consultants. With the addition of the climate change module, this product delivers the highest level of accuracy and foresight, ensuring that all risks are meticulously evaluated.
Using Flood Risk as an example: the same site, different experience
To demonstrate how these products differ in practice, let’s look at a typical scenario involving flood risk assessment:
Scenario: A Homebuyer has had their offer accepted and is eagerly waiting to arrange their move in date. Before this is possible, their conveyancer is reviewing their Environmental Search to see if there are any concerns to flag to the Homebuyer.
- Homecheck Residential: The report identifies that the property is in a flood-prone area, prompting further investigation. The assessment highlights potential risks but does not provide detailed specifics.
Report outcome – Identified
- EnviroSearch Residential: This report offers a full flood assessment, breaking down the risk by specific perils such as River, Coastal, Surface Water, and Groundwater. In this case, a high risk for surface water flooding is identified, and recommendations are provided, including whether the site is insurable under standard terms. This product also includes the climate change module, offering insights into how future environmental changes might impact the property from flooding.
Report Outcome – Further Action
- RiskView Residential: The RiskView report identifies the high risk of surface water flooding and refers the case to Landmark’s environmental consultants for expert evaluation. The consultants determine that the high-risk area is limited to an adjacent road, allowing them to downgrade the overall flood risk and provide a “Passed” outcome. Additionally, the climate change module helps evaluate long-term impacts, offering an even more comprehensive risk profile for the property and confirms the risk doesn’t worsen over time.
Report Outcome – Passed
Clarity and confidence: key benefits
Our enhanced residential products offer the most comprehensive environmental reports on the market, presented in a format that’s easy to use and understand. Key benefits include:
- Comprehensive Coverage: Every report covers all key environmental risks, from coal mining to planning and everything in between, ensuring thorough due diligence.
- Clear Risk Assessment: The user-friendly format makes it easy for conveyancers and clients to understand the environmental risks and how they have been assessed.
- Enhanced Usability: Our reports retain a fixed structure to keep them familiar from one case to the next. The intuitive layout and navigation throughout make locating information straightforward.
- Assessment Options: You can choose the level of detail required, with options ranging from basic checks to full expert analysis, including new features like our new innovative coal alert.
Comprehensive due diligence, made easy
Our new portfolio empowers you to provide your clients with the highest level of due diligence, helping them make informed decisions and avoid unpleasant surprises down the line. By addressing all key environmental risks in one report, you can confidently manage the complexities of environmental due diligence with ease. Our enhanced residential portfolio launches in November, so watch this space for more details coming soon.
