Property Enquiry Certificate
When a property is being sold your solicitor will carry out conveyancing duties which normally include a property search. The Moray Council can carry out these searches and provide a Property Enquiry Certificate detailing issues relating to Planning, Building Control, Environmental Health, Housing, Roads, etc.
From 3rd March 2003 the information provided by the Council in these certificates will also include details of confirmed and potentially contaminated land. The Environmental Health Section screen property enquiries against the Part IIA Contaminated Land Register, maps dating from 1860 until the present day and the Contaminated Land Database.
The information included in a Property Enquiry Certificate will detail any potential sources of contamination along with their distance from the property or land in question. The Moray Council provide the only Property Enquiry Certificate that details potential sources of contamination in Moray.
Sample Comment on Property Enquiry Certificate
An example of the type of information that The Moray Council may provide on a Property Enquiry Certificate is indicated below.
"The property is not on the Contaminated Land Register which is maintained by The Moray Council under Section 78R(I) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The property is not adjacent to a property which is on the Contaminated Land Register maintained by The Moray Council under section 78R(I) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
The property is on the site of a historic infilled gravel pit as well as being 35m from a current petrol/diesel filling station. Both of these have the potential to contaminate land. The Moray Council does not have information to confirm whether the ground has been contaminated, nor whether any contamination may have affected your site as a result of these uses and would therefore recommend that a site investigation be carried out.
This information is correct at the date of this Certificate only. In addition, the information is provided to the best of the Council’s knowledge in accordance with information held by the Council at the date of this certificate. Issues raised do not necessarily mean that there is cause for concern and the Council recommends that you do not reach any conclusions about contamination using only the information provided in this certificate. However, it is recommended that the issues raised are carefully investigated. The Council accepts no liability whatsoever in respect of the future condition of the property."