Nathan Knows: Our new* CON29DW Commercial report

*it tells you the same things, but looks nicer and does a bit more!

Commercial transactions can be quite complex, there is a lot of information to read through and lots of avenues to be considered in these types of transactions.

With this in mind, our CON29DW Commercial has had a makeover to assist you in what ways we can, to better help you get to what you need when you request our searches. Those familiar with our residential reports may recognise this, but here’s a quick look at what I mean.

With this change, the Commercial now aligns its look and feel with our Residential product. This means less clutter, easier navigation, and better visual representation of all the nice words we use to provide you with all the information you and your clients need to make an informed decision. New to the commercial, the header page gives you a quick overview of the most important information upfront. Each question is its own button taking you straight to the related area of the report, with additional buttons on top of each section to help you bounce around* as needed.

*Please practice bouncing responsibly!

On top of this change, we have also retired our previous ‘Commercial Plus’ option, this was typically needed for larger areas (over 10 Hectares) or where multiple connections were needed (up to 3). With our brand new Commercial offering, there is no longer an additional charge for slightly bigger areas*. Plus where connections are concerned, the standard Commercial now automatically includes up to 4 connections, one better and at a cheaper cost than before! **

*Anything that doesn’t fit into an A3 1:5000 Landscape plan may still require multiple searches, don’t worry, we’ll tell you beforehand, promise!

** Any more than 4 would require multiple searches as appropriate

What’s different in the report?

The CON29DWCommercial contains the same questions as the residential offering, advising of the connection status for clean water, and foul sewer services, based on current billing data.

But beyond that, it has additional questions and some tweaks here and there:

Trade effluent information‍

Depending on the type of property, it may require a trade effluent consent. This means that the property is discharging something other than Foul or Surface drainage and can range between:

• Food preparation and processing(restaurants, breweries, dairies).
• Vehicle washing facilities.
• Manufacturing processes.
• Chemical cleaning operations.
• Laundries and dry cleaners.
• Laboratories and medical facilities.

This is important because a purchaser could inherit operational constraints, ongoing charges, or compliance obligations associated with the site.

Please note that Trade Effluent does NOT pass from one premises owner to the next – it would need applying for in its own right for the new owner, even if it’s to treat the same effluent at the same premises.

Wayleave/ Easement information

Easements are often registered against the property's title at HM Land Registry and can bind future owners. Examples of what this means include:

• A water company having the right to keep a water main running beneath the property.
• The water company has the right to enter the land to inspect or repair a sewer.
• The landowner cannot build over or obstruct the infrastructure without permission.

Whereas a wayleave is typically a contractual agreement between a landowner and a utility company allowing equipment or pipes to be installed on the land and unlike an easement:

• A wayleave is usually personal to the parties involved.
• It may be terminable under certain conditions.
• It may not automatically bind future owners in the same way as an easement.

As a result, rights affecting underground infrastructure can have significant financial and planning implications. That's why the CON29DW Commercial report includes enquiries about wayleaves and easements, whereas the residential report is focused more narrowly on issues relevant to a typical house purchase.

Additional sewer plan information

Asset plans are still provided where possible, but in addition to this, information regarding manhole cover references, depth, and invert levels is given where applicable. This is because more information regarding underground assets can better help when making redevelopment decisions. This might all seem like a mouthful, and it is, but all of it is important information that could make or break a transaction, we wouldn’t want to take any half measures.

Anything else I should know about?

If you are still with me, then thank you, we’re on the home stretch! I mentioned that we provide connection information, same as we would in a residential request. But it is worth noting that the way properties (and sometimes agricultural fields!) are billed is different to a home due to market separation.

Market separation in the UK water industry refers to the fact that, in most of England, the retail water market for non-household customers (businesses, charities, public-sector bodies, etc.) was opened to competition in 2017. What this means is the industry was split into two parts: Wholesale, and Retail.

Wholesale refers to the local water company in the area. The local water company still:

• Owns and maintains the water mains and sewers.
• Treats drinking water.
• Treats wastewater.
• Operates the physical network.

Retail refers to the businesses that the property owner contacts to receive services to a commercial premises. They are responsible for:

• Billing for clean or waste services
• Providing customer service in relation to these services
• Manage meter readings
• Offers water efficiency services
• Handles account administration

What this means for the CON29DW, most importantly, is that the property address you are searching may not always be what the water company has its connection information registered to. This could mean that WAVE knows the building is a dog groomers (we love dogs) but the billing with Anglian Water is registered as ‘Street Name, Postcode’ with no further identifying information. This would mean that when the dog groomers sell their property (too many dogs) WAVE can easily amend the address to the new owner ‘cat salon’ (we also love cats), but as for finding connections, this might mean we need a bit more information to help us along.

We are always available to provide any further information or go assist in any manner within our capability, so feel free to give us a call!