Survey finding
Coal mining area: what your survey and search show
Mining areas are routine in much of the UK. This page covers searches and risks.
Last updated: .
Finding
Coal mining area
What this usually means
Around 25% of UK property is in coal mining reporting areas. The Coal Authority CA1 search reveals shafts, workings, and subsidence claims. Most properties have no real risk; some are over historic shafts requiring grouting.
Why it matters
Lender requires CA1 search in mining areas. The result determines whether further investigation is needed.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:Is the property over historic workings?
- Check:Are there visible signs of subsidence?
Ask the seller
- Check:Has there been any past subsidence claim or remediation?
- Check:Is a Coal Authority search included in the conveyancing pack?
Next steps
- •Get two written quotes from local trades before negotiating with the seller.
- •Speak to your mortgage broker before exchanging if the finding affects mortgageability.
Tool shortcut
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What you need to know
Severity
Maintenance item. Worth quoting and including in negotiation.
Typical cost to fix
CA1 search £40-£70 (often part of conveyancing pack). Borehole investigation £2,000-£5,000 if recommended. Grouting works £10,000-£30,000+ rare.
Mortgage impact
CA1 search required; standard lending if clear.
Insurance impact
The Coal Authority subsidence claim regime covers compensation; insurance unaffected for most.
When to pull out
Pull out only if Coal Authority recommends specialist investigation and cost is prohibitive.
When to renegotiate, and by how much
Cost of remediation if recommended.
Thinking of pulling out or renegotiating? What to do after a bad survey
Run the check on this address
The Survey Decoder explains the wording. The full report adds address-specific flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, listed status, building age and price comparison data, so a single finding isn't judged in isolation.
Run the check
Check the property before you offer
Free preview: flood risk, EPC rating, crime, tenure and air quality. The £9.99 report adds the remaining 17 checks, 22 in all, drawing on up to 15 public datasets.
Run a free previewRead next
Coal mining risk when buying , the full buyer guide behind this finding rather than the one line a surveyor writes about it.
House survey cost UK , what a Level 2 and a Level 3 actually cost in 2026, and Level 2 vs Level 3 , what each level does and does not cover. Not every finding here is something a surveyor assesses — some are a conveyancer's search — and the comparison says which is which.
How MyPropertyScan produces this guide, and what it is not
Published by MyPropertyScan and written by Ziad Nasr, who is accountable for its accuracy. No page here is written or reviewed by a chartered surveyor, conveyancer or regulated adviser, and we do not claim otherwise.
This page is not:
- Chartered surveying: we do not inspect properties or produce RICS Home Survey reports
- Legal advice: we do not act as conveyancers or advise on title, tenure or contracts
- Mortgage or insurance advice: we are not regulated by the FCA and give no recommendations
Figures and process steps come from the published UK datasets and standards listed on this page, not from professional practice. Pages are updated when source coverage, survey cost assumptions, or lender and legal requirements materially change. Dataset limitations are set out on the methodology page.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email [email protected] and we will correct it and change the update date.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.
- Professional standard: RICS Home Survey StandardRICS standard for condition-based residential surveys in the UK.
- Learn more from: RICS consumer guide to surveysConsumer-facing guide to survey types and when each level is appropriate.
- Official guidance: GOV.UK buying or selling your homeGovernment overview of the home buying and selling process.