Property searches

Launched: December 2004

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Purpose of the study

To investigate access to property information and competition in the market, including information collection, access, charges, and the structure of the market and regulation of the electronic gateway which involves an electronic search of the information holders.

(Study followed in-house work.)

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Findings

The findings showed:

1. The price of property searches provided by local authorities varies greatly (between £55 and £269. It was likely that some consumers were paying too much.

2. Local authorities (LAs) provide property information under a complex framework of legislation.

3. Some LAs restrict access to the property information they hold by property buyers and their agents including property search companies.

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Recommendations

The recommendations of the study were:

1. LAs should be required to give access to all comers to the information needed to complete a home information pack.

2. LAs to make unrefined property information available on terms that do not advantage their own compiling activities over those of third party compilers.

3. Government to give LAs clear guidance on how they should cover costs and set prices for providing property information.

4. Government to agree revised targets with local authorities to ensure that information is made available quickly and on the same timescale as they apply to themselves.

5. Council for National Land Information Service (NLIS) to make the NLIS software more freely available, and to encourage LAs to set up connections with alternative service providers besides NLIS.

6. Local Government Information House (LGIH) to remove exclusivity provisions in the hub and channel licenses and to assign the fourth channel licence as soon as is practicable.

7. In future LGIH should remove the limits on the number of web and channel licences and set objective criteria for potential licences.

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Action following market study

All recommendations accepted except central Government control of prices. NLIS Council accepted recommendations directed at NLIS.

Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) went out to consultation on Good Practice Guidance for local authorities and personal searchers in May 2007.

The guidance was published in January 2008. OFT broadly welcomed the guidance, but encouraged DCLG to monitor compliance with it, and cautioned that allowing LAs to make profit on value added information could create an incentive to act unfairly in providing access to unrefined information.

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Market study details and report

Download the OFT Report  Property searches (pdf 458 kb) 'Property Searches: a market study' (pdf file 458 kb). September 2005

Download the annexes of the report:

Annexe A Survey of consumers (pdf 160 kb)
Annexe B Survey of conveyancers (pdf 393 kb)
Annexe C Mystery shopping exercise (pdf 179 kb)
Annexe D Survey of local authorities (pdf 432 kb)
Annexe E Legal framework in England and Wales (pdf 399 kb)
Annexe F Legal framework in Scotland (pdf 112 kb)
Annexe G National Land Information Service (pdf 87 kb)
Annexe H Other property information holders (pdf 76 kb)
Annexe I Parties consulted (pdf 70 kb)
Annexe J Specimen property search forms (pdf 496 kb)

See press release 'Chance to reform Property Search Market: Better access and more competition required, says OFT'. 21 September 2005.

See Department for Business, Enterprise and Reform press release  21 September 2005.

The OFT has responded to a consultation on Local Authority property search services. Download the OFT's response (pdf 70 kb). 4 April 2008.

See OFT statement 'OFT welcomes Government plans to reform property search market'  23 December 2005.

See Government response 'Government response to Office of Fair Trading Property Searches Market Study' (pdf 73 kb). December 2005.

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Background information

See press release 'New study into Property Search Market'. December 2004.

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