About Auto Property Searches

Last updated 27 October 2026

Auto Property Searches is a free website for people buying a home in the UK. You type an address or postcode, tap your house on the map, and get one page that pulls together what public records say about the property and the ground around it, laid out in the same order as the searches a conveyancer orders.

Who makes it

The site is made and run by an independent individual in Devon, in the South West of England. It is not part of an estate agent, a search company or a law firm, and nobody pays to be shown on it. It belongs to a small family of free tools from the same maker, including Model my Property (3D models of a house and land), Auto Builder (extension and new-build drawings), Auto Field Maps and Auto Shed Plans.

What the site does

For the address you choose, the report brings together:

Sold prices and a rough value today: past sales in the postcode from HM Land Registry, brought up to date with the UK House Price Index.
The plot: the registered title outline and its approximate area, plus tenure and past sales.
Planning: conservation areas, listed buildings and monuments nearby, tree preservation orders, Article 4 directions, protected landscapes and wildlife sites, HS2 and other safeguarded areas, national infrastructure projects, and planning history from the council's own register where it can be searched.
Flood risk: flood zones for rivers and the sea, surface water and groundwater information, flood defences and live flood warnings.
Ground and environment: old landfill sites, coal mining and disused coal tips, radon, geology and landslides, air quality, and road, rail and aircraft noise.
Roads and rights: planned roads and railways, whether the road looks adopted, public rights of way, and common land and village greens.
Running costs and the area: a likely council tax band and the council's Band D charge, the water and sewerage company, crime, schools, stations and places nearby, with links to the energy certificate and broadband and mobile coverage.

It then lists what to ask your solicitor, can draft letters to the council, the water company and the flood authority, and can produce a written report to download. Coverage is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with different sources in each nation.

It is for first-time buyers, movers and anyone viewing houses who wants to spot likely problems early, before paying for a survey and official searches. The guide to conveyancing searches explains how the pieces fit together.

Why it is free

There is no charge and no account to make. The site is paid for by adverts from Google AdSense. The privacy policy explains how adverts and cookies work, and the addresses you look up are not stored by us.

Where the data comes from

Everything comes from public, openly licensed data, most of it read live in your browser when you search:

HM Land Registry (Price Paid data, the UK House Price Index and INSPIRE title outlines)
planning.data.gov.uk, including Historic England, Natural England and Planning Inspectorate data; DataMapWales, Cadw and Natural Resources Wales; Historic Environment Scotland, SEPA and NatureScot; and Northern Ireland's DfI, DAERA and Historic Environment Division
the Environment Agency (flood maps, flood warnings and historic landfill), Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and DfI Rivers
the British Geological Survey (radon with UKHSA, geology and landslides) and the Mining Remediation Authority (coal mining)
council tax figures from GOV.UK, the Welsh Government, the Scottish Government and Finance NI, and band counts from the Valuation Office Agency
data.police.uk, postcodes.io, the ONS UPRN Directory, the DfT NaPTAN list of stations, Open-Meteo, and OpenStreetMap contributors for places, paths and the hints marked "Not official"
council online planning registers and UK PlanIt for planning history

Full credits and licences are in the footer of the report.

Limits

This is a free summary of public data, not an official search. It is not a substitute for the searches your conveyancer orders, and your solicitor should still order the official local authority, drainage and water, environmental and any mining searches, and check the title. Public data can be out of date, incomplete or mapped at a coarse scale. The value is a rough guide, not a valuation. The council tax band is an estimate, not the official band. Plot outlines show the general position of boundaries, not exact lines. See the terms of use.

Contact

Questions, a correction to the data, or an idea for something the report should check? Email [email protected]. Every message is read, and replies usually come within a few days. We cannot give legal advice about a particular purchase: for that, please ask your conveyancer.