When you need a coal mining search and what it tells you

A coal mining search tells you whether a property sits in a former coal mining area and whether mining may have affected the ground around it. The reports come from the Mining Remediation Authority, which was known as the Coal Authority until it changed its name on 28 November 2024. Its statutory responsibilities did not change, so older references to the Coal Authority in deeds and past reports mean the same body.

Checking whether you need one

Start with the free check. On the Authority’s online search service you enter the property’s postcode and boundaries and get an immediate answer on whether you need to order a mining report. If you do not have a postcode, an interactive map shows whether a wider area is affected by coal mining. Your conveyancer can order the report for you alongside the rest of your property searches.

What the report covers

According to gov.uk, a coal mining report gives information on mine entries within 20 metres of a property’s boundaries, gas emissions from coal mines, other coal mining hazards reported in the area, and plans for future coal mining in the area.

The 20 metres applies to mine entries, so a clear result on that point is a statement about that distance from the boundary rather than the whole neighbourhood. It is worth reading the result with that in mind.

Prices start at £27 plus VAT, which is £32.40 at 20% VAT. The report usually arrives by email within 24 to 48 hours, although it can take up to 72. Wider reports that also cover general subsidence, environmental or flood risk cost more.

Reading an adverse result

A report that flags something is telling you about risk. Gov.uk says property near past mining activities may be at risk of being on unstable ground, which is a different thing from damage having happened. What you do next depends on what the report says and on what your surveyor and your lender want to see.

Where the report points to a risk, ask your surveyor whether a specialist assessment is worth getting, and talk to your lender before the valuation is finalised. Sorting this out before exchange leaves you free to renegotiate or walk away, which you cannot do afterwards. Our guide to the signs of subsidence covers what to look for in the building itself.

Subsidence damage claims

If coal mining subsidence has damaged a property, the owner can send a damage notice to the Mining Remediation Authority. If the claim is accepted, the owner gets either the damage fixed or compensation for it. Gov.uk says a decision usually comes within 90 days, and that you may be able to get compensation for what you spend on a surveyor if the claim succeeds.

The time limit comes from section 3 of the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991, which allows six years. The six years begin on the first date on which any person entitled to give the notice knew that the damage had occurred and that its nature and circumstances indicated it might be subsidence damage. It does not begin on the day the cracks appeared.

If you disagree with the decision, you can apply to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution to review the claim. The Householder Arbitration Scheme is for owners claiming on a domestic property, and it costs £96.

What to ask if there has been a past claim

If the house has had a subsidence claim, ask whether it ended in a repair or a payment. Gov.uk describes the outcomes as the damage fixed or compensation for the damage, and they leave a buyer in different positions. A repair means the work was done. With a payment, the money went to the owner at the time, and nothing about that fact tells you it was spent on the building.

Ask the seller for the damage notice, the Authority’s response and any schedule of works, and put the request in your first round of enquiries rather than your last. Our guide to what buyers ask sellers in conveyancing enquiries explains how that stage works. Ask too when the cracks were first noticed and whether a notice was ever given. If you want a firm that handles these purchases regularly, you can compare conveyancing quotes.