The nine blocks
Ownership and registry position
That the seller is the person entitled to sell, and holds full title. Chain of ownership, mortgages, charges, easements, attachments, life interests, resolutory conditions and pre-emption rights.
Cadastre and planning
That what stands on the ground matches what the papers say. Registry square metres against the cadastre, land classification, unlicensed works and whether they are time-barred, first occupancy licence, enforcement files and demolition orders.
Environmental constraints and risks
Flood risk, coastal public domain, forestry land, drovers' roads, heritage or archaeological protection. This is what limits what you can do with the property, and what almost nobody checks.
Tax position
Council tax and charges up to date, registered tax encumbrances, and the comparison between the agreed price and the cadastral reference value — on which your transfer tax and the risk of a valuation review depend.
Tenancies and occupation
Whether there are tenants, under what contract, since when, and whether they have pre-emption rights. If it is occupied without title, the exact situation and what it entails.
Building association
Outstanding debt owed by the seller, levies already approved but not yet billed, bylaws and minutes from recent years. This is where the expensive surprises show up: a facade refurbishment voted through last month.
Technical documentation and utilities
A valid energy performance certificate, occupancy declaration or habitability certificate, building inspection report where applicable, and water, electricity and gas connection contracts.
Inventory and condition of the property
What is included in the price and the condition it is handed over in, with a closed inventory and photographs. Structural condition is work for an architect or surveyor, not a lawyer: the two reviews complement each other.
Executive summary and risk traffic light
The eight blocks above are worthless without a conclusion: what is a flat no, what gets negotiated on price, what gets made a condition of the deposit contract, and what documentation is still missing before signing.
The three moments when this matters
- Before signing the deposit contract. It is the only moment when finding a problem is free: you walk away, or you use it to negotiate the price.
- Between deposit contract and completion. There is a penalty now, but you can still make completion conditional on the seller fixing it. That depends on how the deposit contract is drafted.
- After completion. Now we are talking about remedies for hidden defects, rescission of the contract or a damages claim. In other words, the courts.
What the notary does not check
This is the most common misunderstanding. The notary verifies title and the charges registered at the Land Registry on the day of signing, and warns you of what appears there. They do not check the planning position, or unlicensed works, or debt to the building association, or approved levies, or environmental constraints, or whether the price is below the reference value. All of that you either review beforehand, or discover afterwards.
What you have just read is the index. The report is something else
A real due diligence runs to fifteen or twenty pages: each block broken down into points verified one by one against the Land Registry, the cadastre, the council and the building association, with the risk traffic light, the alerts found, the documentation still to be provided and the specific clauses to be written into the deposit contract to protect you. It is a service with a lawyer accountable behind it, not a template to fill in.
Ask me for a report