UK Property Check

Where our data comes from and how we use it

Every check on this site is built from open data published by government bodies. This page lists each source, how often it changes, what we use it for and what it cannot tell you.

The sources

Price Paid Data

Published by HM Land Registry. Source: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data downloads.

What we use it for
Residential sales for value lodged with HM Land Registry since January 1995, with the price, the date, the property type, the tenure and whether the home was new.
How often it changes
Monthly, on the 20th working day
Our copy
Sales recorded up to 30 September 2026, from the October 2026 release, loaded on 8 November 2026.
What it cannot tell you
A sale is usually registered 2 weeks to 2 months after it completes, then appears in the next monthly update. Gifts, Right to Buy sales at a discount, transfers that were not for value and leases of 7 years or less are not included.
Licence
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Transaction unique identifier and UPRN look-up table

Published by HM Land Registry. Source: HM Land Registry transaction and UPRN look-up table.

What we use it for
Links sales in the Price Paid Data to the unique property reference number of each home, which also appears on its energy certificate. We use it to find the floor area for price per square metre without matching addresses.
How often it changes
Monthly, on the 20th working day
Our copy
Loaded on 14 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
HM Land Registry first published it in August 2026 and says it covers only new price paid records, not back-dated ones, so few older sales are linked. A sale is linked only where HM Land Registry can relate it to an Ordnance Survey AddressBase address.
Licence
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. UPRNs contain OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

UK House Price Index

Published by HM Land Registry, produced jointly with the Office for National Statistics, Registers of Scotland and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. Source: UK House Price Index reports on GOV.UK.

What we use it for
Monthly price indices for each council area and region, by property type. We use them to show roughly what the last standard sale of a home would be worth now if it had moved with local prices.
How often it changes
Monthly
Our copy
UK House Price Index up to August 2026, loaded on 22 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
An index tracks average prices across an area, so it cannot reflect work done to one home or a change in its condition. Figures for the most recent months can be revised.
Licence
Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Energy performance certificates

Published by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Source: MHCLG energy performance data service.

What we use it for
Energy rating, floor area, construction age band, heating and the improvements the assessor recommended, for certificates lodged in England and Wales.
How often it changes
Continuously, with a full file each month
Our copy
Energy certificates lodged up to 31 October 2026, loaded on 8 November 2026. A free check also looks up the home's own certificates on the register, and its stamp gives the date they were looked up.
What it cannot tell you
Costs use the fuel prices built into the assessment method and a standard pattern of use, so real bills differ, and a certificate does not record the condition of the home. Owners can opt out of publication.
Licence
All data fields other than the address and postcode are licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, which includes Ordnance Survey UPRNs. Address data is covered by the notice below, copied from MHCLG's licensing restrictions page.
Address data notice

Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail Copyright and Database Right Notice

This data contains address data (address 1, address 2, address 3, postcode - processed against Ordnance Survey’s Address Base Premium product, which incorporates Royal Mail’s PAF® database (Address Data). MHCLG has published the address data with the consent of Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail Group Limited; Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail Group Limited reserve all their respective copyright, database rights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights. Ordnance Survey and Royal Mail Group Limited permit the use of ‘address data’ solely for specific purposes related to the energy performance of buildings which are as follows:

  • The effective management of properties in the private or public sector with a view to promoting energy efficiency (through consideration of factors such as patterns of use, maintenance, repairs, improvements and upgrades of building structure or energy using systems).
  • Research to provide data, analysis and statistics intended to improve the understanding of energy efficiency of buildings or to facilitate innovation and improvement in use, design, materials and equipment to this end.
  • Research into the effectiveness or impact of energy efficiency improvements including those delivered through Government or other energy improvement programmes.
  • Promoting and marketing energy efficiency improvements that may be made through a government energy efficiency programme or initiative.
  • Promotion and better understanding of the current energy efficiency of buildings and potential improvement in the building sale or rental markets and/or by building occupiers or users.
  • To enable enforcement authorities to carry out enforcement duties as required by the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations (England and Wales) 2012 (SI 2012/3118).
  • By local authorities in the exercise of their duties under section 91 of the Building Act 1984, or an approved inspector for the purposes of the inspector’s functions under Part 2 of the Building Act 1984.
  • For the prevention or detection of crime, the apprehension or prosecution of alleged offenders, any proceedings in a court or tribunal or complying with an order or a court or a tribunal.

In addition to the purposes set out above there are certain exceptions to copyright which permit you to use copyrighted material for specific and limited purposes. These include non-commercial research and private study, subject to compliance with certain conditions. Further information about these exceptions can be found here.

Where you publish or otherwise share address data with any other person for any of the purposes permitted under this copyright and database right notice, you must include a copy of this copyright and database right notice with the data.

Any use of address data which is not specified in this notice or covered by one of the copyright exceptions requires an appropriate licence from Ordnance Survey. You can contact Ordnance Survey at PricingLicensing@os.uk and/or Royal Mail Group Limited (address.management@royalmail.com).

By using address data on this website, you will be taken to agree to the terms set out in this copyright and database right notice. Failure to comply with this copyright and database right notice may lead to Ordnance Survey and/or Royal Mail Group Limited taking legal action against you.

Risk of flooding from rivers, sea and surface water

Published by Environment Agency (England). Source: GOV.UK long term flood risk service.

What we use it for
The chance of flooding for the area around a home, from the Environment Agency's national flood risk assessment, whose data was first published in January 2025.
How often it changes
Updated periodically by the Environment Agency. We keep a local copy and check for updates every week
What it cannot tell you
The Environment Agency says the data is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood. It describes the area.
Licence
Open Government Licence. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved. This is the attribution the Environment Agency gives on the data.gov.uk record.

Flood Risk Assessment Wales

Published by Natural Resources Wales. Source: Natural Resources Wales flood risk map.

What we use it for
The chance of flooding from rivers, the sea, and surface water and small watercourses for the area around a home in Wales.
How often it changes
Updated periodically by Natural Resources Wales. We keep a local copy and check for updates every week
What it cannot tell you
Natural Resources Wales says the map is not specific to individual properties.
Licence
Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and database right. All rights reserved. Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology © UKCEH. Defra, Met Office and DARD Rivers Agency © Crown copyright.

Recorded flood outlines and extents

Published by Environment Agency (England) and Natural Resources Wales (Wales). Source: Environment Agency Recorded Flood Outlines on data.gov.uk.

What we use it for
Whether the land at a home's position is inside a recorded flood outline (England) or recorded flood extent (Wales). We show the month and year, the source of each flood and any storm name from a fixed list of named storms, never an outline's own name, which can include an address or a business name.
How often it changes
The Environment Agency updates its outlines quarterly and Natural Resources Wales twice a year. We keep a local copy and check both for updates every week.
What it cannot tell you
Both publishers say that no record does not mean an area has never flooded. The Environment Agency says an outline does not necessarily mean properties flooded inside, so the records show land that flooded, not whether a building did.
Licence
© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved. Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved. Both are licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0; the Welsh terms are on the DataMapWales layer record.

Coalfield consultation areas

Published by Mining Remediation Authority. Source: GOV.UK coal mining property check.

What we use it for
Whether a postcode is inside the coal mining reporting area, which the Mining Remediation Authority uses to decide whether a coal mining report is required when a property is sold.
How often it changes
Updated when the Mining Remediation Authority publishes changes
Our copy
Loaded on 14 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
We test the postcode's position, not the property boundary, so a home near the edge of the area can fall on the other side. It is not a coal mining report.
Licence
Contains Mining Remediation Authority information © Mining Remediation Authority, 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, per the data.gov.uk record.

Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain

Published by British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency. Source: BGS page for the radon atlas.

What we use it for
The estimated share of homes with radon at or above UKHSA's Action Level, for the 1 km grid square a home is in, and so whether the square includes a radon Affected Area.
How often it changes
Updated rarely. The current version was published in December 2022
Our copy
Indicative Atlas of Radon for Great Britain, version 3, published by BGS and UKHSA in December 2022, loaded on 23 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
Each square takes the highest level found anywhere within it, so the map is indicative rather than definitive, and a report for the exact address from UKradon can show a lower level. Only a radon test measures a home.
Licence
Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2022. Radon Potential classification UK Health Security Agency © Crown copyright 2022. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Strategic noise mapping, round 4: road and rail

Published by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (England). Source: Road noise round 4 on data.gov.uk.

What we use it for
Modelled road and rail noise on a 10 metre grid, 4 metres above the ground. We take the level on the loudest side of a home for the day, evening and night (Lden), which weights evening and night noise more heavily, and at night (Lnight).
How often it changes
Every five years. Round 4 models 2022. We keep a local copy
Our copy
Strategic noise mapping round 4 (2022) for England from Defra and for Wales from the Welsh Government, loaded on 23 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
The levels are calculated, not measured. The map starts at 40 dB (35 dB at night), and leaves out aircraft, industry and neighbours.
Licence
© Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs copyright and/or database right 2023. All rights reserved. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Environmental Noise Mapping 2022: road and rail

Published by Welsh Government. Source: Welsh road noise map on DataMapWales.

What we use it for
Modelled noise from all roads and railways in Wales on a 10 metre grid, used the same way as the England maps.
How often it changes
Every five years. We keep a local copy
Our copy
Strategic noise mapping round 4 (2022) for England from Defra and for Wales from the Welsh Government, loaded on 23 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
The Welsh Government says the values are calculated, not measured, and should be treated with caution when looking at specific locations.
Licence
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Street-level crime

Published by Police forces of England and Wales, published on data.police.uk, with Census 2021 population from the Office for National Statistics. Source: About data.police.uk.

What we use it for
Crimes recorded over the latest 12 months in the Census neighbourhood (lower layer super output area) a home is in, per 1,000 residents, by type, with anti-social behaviour shown separately.
How often it changes
Monthly. We load each new month automatically
Our copy
Street-level crime from September 2025 to August 2026, loaded on 23 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
Each crime is placed at an approximate point, not at an address. Greater Manchester Police does not currently publish street-level data. The rate divides all crimes recorded in a neighbourhood by its residents, so shops, stations and nightlife push it up.
Licence
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Schools and their inspections

Published by Department for Education (Get Information about Schools), Ofsted, the Welsh Government and Estyn. Source: Get Information about Schools.

What we use it for
The nearest open state primary and secondary schools to a home, with their type, ages, faith, admissions policy and, in England, the latest Ofsted inspection from Ofsted's monthly management information. In Wales we link to each school's Estyn page.
How often it changes
Get Information about Schools is updated daily and Ofsted's data monthly. We load both every week
Our copy
Schools from Get Information about Schools (22 October 2026) and the Welsh Government address list, with Ofsted inspections as at 30 September 2026, loaded on 23 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
Distances are in a straight line. Admission rules, not distance alone, decide who gets a place. Ofsted report cards from November 2025 cannot be compared with the older single grades.
Licence
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ofsted information is used under the Open Government Licence, as Ofsted asks.

Connected Nations broadband and mobile coverage

Published by Ofcom. Source: Ofcom Connected Nations update.

What we use it for
The share of homes at a postcode that can get gigabit, ultrafast and superfast broadband, or cannot get a decent service, and indoor 4G and outdoor 5G coverage for the council area.
How often it changes
A few times a year
Our copy
Ofcom Connected Nations fixed and mobile coverage for January 2026, loaded on 2 November 2026.
What it cannot tell you
Shares are of the homes that providers could match to the postcode. Mobile figures are for the whole council area, as Ofcom does not publish them by postcode.
Licence
© Ofcom. Ofcom provides this data under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Council tax levels and stock of properties

Published by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Welsh Government and the Valuation Office Agency. Source: Council tax levels for England on GOV.UK.

What we use it for
The average Band D council tax for each council area, including every charge on the bill, such as police and any parish, town or community council, the charge for each band, and how many homes in a Census neighbourhood are in each band.
How often it changes
Once a year
Our copy
Council tax levels for 2026-27 from MHCLG and the Welsh Government, with Valuation Office Agency band counts as at 31 March 2026, loaded on 23 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
Charges are averages for the council area, so a home's bill can differ a little by parish. We do not show the band of any single home: GOV.UK shows that.
Licence
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Planning data for England

Published by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with Historic England and councils. Source: planning.data.gov.uk planning data service.

What we use it for
Whether a home in England is inside a conservation area, an Article 4 direction area, a tree preservation order area or a World Heritage Site, and which listed buildings are recorded nearby.
How often it changes
Checked live, and cached for up to a week
What it cannot tell you
Not every council has published its data yet, so when nothing is found that does not mean there are no restrictions. It does not cover Wales.
Licence
Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Listed building data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on the date shown with each check. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

OS Open UPRN

Published by Ordnance Survey. Source: Ordnance Survey OS Open UPRN product page.

What we use it for
The map position of each home, found from the unique property reference number on its energy certificate, so we can check flood risk and planning data at the home itself.
How often it changes
Updated regularly by Ordnance Survey. We load each new release automatically
Our copy
The October 2026 release, loaded on 5 November 2026.
What it cannot tell you
Gives a single point for each property, not its boundary.
Licence
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

ONS Postcode Directory

Published by Office for National Statistics. Source: ONS Open Geography Portal.

What we use it for
Where each postcode is, which council and country it is in, and which small statistical area it belongs to.
How often it changes
Quarterly. We load each new release automatically
Our copy
The August 2026 release, loaded on 14 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
A postcode's position is a single point near the middle of its addresses.
Licence
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

OpenStreetMap

Published by OpenStreetMap contributors, prepared as map tiles by Protomaps. Source: About OpenStreetMap.

What we use it for
The streets, place names, water and land behind the maps on check, sold price and area pages. We serve the map from our own server, so your browser does not contact a map company.
How often it changes
We load a new copy of the map for England and Wales every month
Our copy
OpenStreetMap data as of 23 October 2026, loaded on 23 October 2026.
What it cannot tell you
The map is drawn by volunteers, so a very new street may be missing. Sales on our maps are placed at the centre of their postcode, not at the home.
Licence
© OpenStreetMap contributors. The data is available under the Open Database License. Our map tiles are an extract, for England and Wales, of the OpenStreetMap basemap that Protomaps publishes in full under the same licence, from its build of 23 October 2026. We cut it with the pmtiles extract tool to the outline in our map region file. When we send tiles we leave out the points of interest layer, which our maps do not draw, and at zoom level 10 and below the land use layer (parks, farmland and similar areas). For the price maps on area pages we also leave out the buildings and land use layers at every zoom level. This keeps the maps quick to load, and we make no other change. We will send a copy of the extract on request. Full terms are on the OpenStreetMap copyright page.

Each free check ends with a stamp that gives the dates behind it: how far HM Land Registry's sales in our copy run, when this home's energy certificates were looked up, and when the flood and planning answers were checked. For flood data, that is when our copy was last confirmed current.

How we find a home's energy certificate

When you check a home, you type its house number or name. We look for its certificate on the register for that postcode by comparing the address: the house number or name, any flat number, letter or floor, and the street.

A match needs every number you typed to appear in the certificate's address, in the same order, with no extra numbers. If two different homes match almost equally well, we ask you which one you mean rather than guess.

From the certificate we show the rating and score, the rating it could reach, the floor area, the age band, the main heating, and the dates it was lodged and runs until.

We also show its running-cost estimate for heating, hot water and lighting. It uses the fuel prices built into the assessment method and a standard pattern of use, so real bills differ.

For a certificate more than 3 years old we show no running-cost figure, and suggest asking the seller for the last year's bills. BRE says the method's prices are based on historic prices, so they may not reflect today's.

We show up to three of the certificate's recommended improvements. From a certificate up to 3 years old, each comes with its typical cost and yearly saving.

From an older certificate, we list the work under "Work the certificate recommended in" its year, without cost or saving figures, and say they are too old to use, so get current quotes.

If the home is probably listed, we add that most of this work, inside or out, may need listed building consent first. In a conservation area, we add that changes to the outside may need planning permission first.

If we cannot find the home, the check suggests house numbers at that postcode and shows how flats there are written. Those hints come from HM Land Registry's Price Paid addresses, not from certificate addresses.

We tested these rules in October 2026 against 84,149 sales that HM Land Registry has linked to official property reference numbers.

Where the home had a certificate, the rules found it 98.8% of the time, and 99.6% of their matches were the right home. For flats the figures were 98.1% and 99.3%.

Our price per square metre figures use fewer of those sales, 52,555, because they count only standard sales of houses and flats from the last two years where the property reference has a certificate with a usable floor area.

How we place a home on the map

When we match a home to its energy certificate, the certificate gives its unique property reference number. Ordnance Survey's open data turns that number into a map position for the home itself.

We use that position to look up flood risk, planning designations, radon, noise and the nearest schools. If we cannot find it, we use the centre of the postcode instead, and say so.

How we look up flood risk

We keep our own copy of the Environment Agency's flood risk data for England and Natural Resources Wales's Flood Risk Assessment Wales, and look up the risk bands at the home's position in it.

We report flooding from rivers and the sea separately from surface water, because they have different causes.

Both services describe areas, not individual buildings, and we say so wherever we show the result.

The same copy holds the Environment Agency's Recorded Flood Outlines (England) and Natural Resources Wales's Recorded Flood Extents (Wales), which show whether the land at the home's position has flooded before.

For each recorded flood we show the month and year and the source of the water, never an outline's own name, which can include an address or a business name. Where nothing is recorded, we say so, not that the land has never flooded.

We add a storm's name only from a fixed list of storms on the Met Office's storm pages since 2015/16, which include some named by other European weather services, and only when its year is within a year of the record.

We check the publishers for updates every week and load any new release. If part of our copy is missing, the check asks the live service instead and keeps its answer for up to 30 days.

If neither can answer, the check says recorded flooding was not checked. If we can only place the home at the centre of its postcode, it says the flooding was recorded near the postcode.

How we check planning designations

For homes in England, we ask the government's planning data service whether the home's position is inside a conservation area, an Article 4 direction area, a tree preservation order area or a World Heritage Site.

We also list listed buildings recorded within about 15 metres, because a list entry is a point and may not sit exactly on the home.

If an entry's name includes the home's number or name, we say the home is listed or probably listed, depending on how close the match is, and link to the entry.

Not every council has published its data yet, so when nothing is found we say that, rather than say there is no designation. We keep each planning answer for up to 7 days.

How we check coal mining areas

We test whether each postcode's position falls inside the Mining Remediation Authority's coalfield consultation area, also called the coal mining reporting area.

The Authority uses it to decide whether a coal mining report is required when a property is sold.

A home near the edge of the area can fall on the other side, so we describe the result as being for the postcode.

How we check radon

We look up the 1 km grid square the home is in on the Indicative Atlas of Radon. Each square has a class from 1 to 6, from fewer than 1 in 100 homes estimated to have radon at or above UKHSA's Action Level, to 30 or more in 100. The atlas gives each square the highest class found anywhere in it.

A square in class 2 or above includes at least part of a radon Affected Area, where UKHSA recommends a radon test. About half the postcodes in England and Wales are in such a square, so the check flags only class 3 or above, where at least part of the square has 3% or more of homes estimated to have high radon, and shows class 2 without a flag. A report for the exact address from UKradon can show a lower level than the square, and only a test measures a home.

How we estimate road and rail noise

We keep our own copy of the government noise maps: Defra's round 4 maps for England and the Welsh Government's 2022 maps for Wales. Both model noise on a 10 metre grid, 4 metres above the ground.

The England maps leave buildings blank, so we look at the grid within 30 metres of the home's position and take the loudest level next to it, roughly the level on its loudest side. We show the day, evening and night level (Lden), which weights evening noise by 5 dB and night noise by 10 dB, and the night level (Lnight), for roads and railways separately.

We flag road or rail noise of 65 dB or more for Lden, or 55 dB or more at night, and compare each figure with the World Health Organization's 2018 guideline levels: 53 dB and 45 dB at night for road traffic, 54 dB and 44 dB for railways. The maps start at 40 dB, and 35 dB at night, so below that we say the level is below the lowest the map shows.

Until our copy has loaded, the check asks the publishers' map services instead and keeps each answer for up to 30 days. In Wales that service gives the level at a single point, so the check then says it is the level at the home or at the centre of the postcode.

How we show crime

We count the crimes police recorded on data.police.uk over the latest 12 months in the Census neighbourhood the home is in, a lower layer super output area of about 1,000 to 3,000 residents. We divide by the residents counted in the 2021 Census to give crimes per 1,000 residents, and compare with England and Wales and with the council area.

The England and Wales rate counts only the forces with a full year of data, against the residents they cover. Anti-social behaviour is shown separately and not counted as a crime. We give the change on the year before only when both years have at least 200 crimes.

Below nine tenths of the England and Wales rate we say below average, within a tenth of it either way about average, up to twice it above average, and twice it or more well above average, which the check flags. We compare the neighbourhood with its council area the same way.

Police place each crime at an approximate point, and the rate counts every crime recorded in a neighbourhood against the people who live there, so shops, stations and nightlife push it up. Greater Manchester Police has not sent street-level data to police.uk since July 2019, so we show no figures there. Where a force has not published every month of the latest year, we use the year before and compare with England and Wales for the same months.

District and council pages add up the neighbourhoods in each area, placing each neighbourhood in the district or council that holds most of its postcodes.

How we choose the nearest schools

We list the three nearest open state primary schools within 5 km and the three nearest state secondary schools within 10 km, in a straight line from the home. All-through schools count in both lists. We leave out special schools and alternative provision, and give the number of independent schools within 3 km.

For schools in England we show the latest Ofsted inspection from its monthly data. Report cards from November 2025 grade each area separately, so we count the grades. For older inspections we give the overall grade, or, for inspections after September 2024 when Ofsted stopped giving one, the quality of education grade. Where the inspection was of the school a school replaced, such as before it became an academy, we say so.

Estyn does not give overall grades in Wales, so we link to each school's Estyn page, and to its My Local School page where Estyn's link does not work. We name the local authority that runs admissions, because admission rules decide who gets a place, not distance alone.

How we show broadband and mobile

From Ofcom's Connected Nations data we show the share of homes at the postcode that can get gigabit broadband, superfast broadband of 30 Mbit/s or more, or cannot get a decent service of 10 Mbit/s down and 1 Mbit/s up. The headline says gigabit only when at least 95% of them can get it, and otherwise gives the share.

Ofcom does not publish mobile coverage by postcode, so we give the council area's share of homes with indoor 4G from all four networks and outdoor 5G from at least one, and link to Ofcom's map for the home itself. District pages average the shares at each of their postcodes, and council pages use Ofcom's figure for the council.

How we show council tax

We show the average Band D council tax for the home's council area for the current year, including every charge on the bill, such as police, fire and any county, parish or town council in England, and the police and any community council in Wales. We work out the other bands from the fixed ratios in law, from six ninths of Band D for Band A to eighteen ninths for Band H, and twenty-one ninths for Band I in Wales.

We do not show the band of any single home. The check links to the band checker on GOV.UK, and shows how many homes in the Census neighbourhood are in each band, from the Valuation Office Agency's counts. The agency rounds each count to the nearest 10 and does not publish very small ones.

What a lender may ask about

This part of a check lists things in the records that mortgage lenders often ask about: a medium or high flood risk, the coal mining reporting area, a leasehold, a last recorded sale less than six months ago, walls the certificate describes as system built, timber frame, cob or park home, a thatched roof, an energy rating of F or G, a listed building, a home built before 1900, and an asking price above the local evidence.

The records cannot show everything a lender asks. Price Paid Data leaves out gifts and other transfers that were not sales, and certificates often assume the wall type, so a clear result here is not a lender's answer.

Each lender has its own rules, so these are questions to take to a broker or lender, not mortgage advice.

How we work out prices and price per square metre

We give sale prices, energy ratings and building ages for every district, and price per square metre where enough sales are linked, through their property reference, to an energy certificate.

Where a district has too few, we may show a labelled figure for its postcode area or for nearby districts instead, under the rules below.

District and area prices use standard sales from HM Land Registry between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2026. We give the median and the middle half: the range left when the cheapest quarter and the dearest quarter of sales are set aside.

We show a property type only when it has at least 10 standard sales.

District pages list the council wards that cover most of the district, up to eight, with a median price for each ward that has at least 30 standard sales of houses and flats over the same two years.

We place each sale in a ward by its own postcode, using the ONS Postcode Directory.

Each district page says when its figures were last updated and when the next update is due.

We ask search engines to list a district page only when it has at least 100 standard sales, and either its own price per square metre figure or at least 200 standard sales.

We add these pages in sets of 500, busiest first, a new set every 28 days, and 500 are listed so far. Once listed, a page stays listed while it meets these thresholds. Other district pages exist, but search engines are asked not to list them.

Price per square metre needs each home's floor area from its energy certificate. HM Land Registry links sales to official property reference numbers, which are also on certificates. We use only those links, so no addresses are matched.

HM Land Registry first published these links in August 2026. Our figures use 52,555 linked standard sales, sold between 29 August 2024 and 28 August 2026, 58% of them from June to August 2026.

Our inference: because most of these sales are from one summer, the figures may differ from a full year's sales. The sample grows each month as HM Land Registry publishes more links.

We leave out certificates lodged more than five years before the sale or more than a year after it, floor areas under 20 or over 1,000 square metres, and prices under £20,000.

We show a district's own price per square metre when it has at least 20 linked sales. Otherwise we show the postcode area's figure, but only when the district's median price is within 20% of the area's and the area has at least 40 linked sales.

If the area figure does not qualify, we list up to three nearby districts that have their own figure and a median price within 20% of the district's. The page labels which figure it shows.

How we find similar homes sold nearby

A free check lists sales of the same property type as the home, as HM Land Registry's Price Paid Data records it: detached, semi-detached, terraced or flat.

We use only standard sales, which HM Land Registry calls category A, from the last 24 months.

We include sales within about 800 metres, measured from the home's map position to the centre of each sale's postcode in the ONS Postcode Directory. If we cannot place the home itself, we measure from the centre of its postcode and say so.

The nearest sales come first, and among sales at about the same distance, the most recent. We leave out the home's own sales. The check shows the five nearest and can show up to 30, enough to judge a price against the street.

How we use the UK House Price Index

We take the last standard sale of the home and move its price with the UK House Price Index for its council area and property type, from the month of the sale to the latest month published.

If the council area has no figure, we use the region, or Wales as a whole for a home in Wales.

The result is an index estimate, not a valuation. It assumes the home changed in value in line with similar homes in the area, so it cannot allow for work done since the sale.

We do not show it when the last sale is less than 12 months old, when it was not a standard sale, or when the home has since been split into flats.

Council pages also show each area's change in prices over 12 months, as HM Land Registry publishes it in the index. The latest months are provisional and HM Land Registry revises them, and small council areas can swing sharply from month to month.

How we chart prices over time

Each bar is the median price of standard sales in that calendar year. Each year mixes different homes, so part of a change can come from what sold, for example more flats one year and more detached houses the next.

The figures are not adjusted for inflation, and the latest year covers only the months published so far. We ring the latest full year on each chart because it is the one used for the change since the first year shown.

How we judge an asking price

If the home itself had a standard sale less than 12 months ago, the verdict starts from that sale.

Under 3 months old, we compare the asking price with the sale price: within 3% either way is Close to its recent sale, and more than that is Above or Below its recent sale.

For a sale 3 to 12 months old, we first move its price with the UK House Price Index, and use 5% either way. If there is no index figure, we compare with the sale price itself.

The comparisons with nearby and district sales then follow as context.

If the home's last standard sale was 1 to 5 years ago, the verdict can start from that sale moved with the UK House Price Index: Well above its last sale when the asking price is 25% or more above it, and Well below its last sale when it is 20% or more below.

The nearby comparisons then follow as context, with a note that the index does not allow for work done since the sale. For an older sale, or a smaller gap, the verdict comes from the comparisons, as below.

If the comparisons say In line but the index gap is that large, the label becomes In line with nearby sales, marked worth checking, and the verdict box gives the gap to the index-moved sale underneath.

When you enter an asking price, we compare it with standard sales of the same property type within about 800 metres, if there are at least 8. If there are fewer, we compare it with standard sales of that type across the postcode district.

The verdict says where the asking price sits among those sales: In line (the middle half), On the high side or On the low side (the dearest or cheapest quarter), or High or Low (above or below 9 in 10). It is not a valuation.

When a comparison rests on fewer than 40 sales, we only say whether the price is in the cheapest or dearest quarter, not the tenth.

Price per square metre counts as well when the district has at least 20 linked standard sales of the same type and a similar size, with floor areas within about 25% of the home's.

The verdict then weighs both, for example High for its size when the price is in the middle half but its price per square metre is higher than most. The check says how many sales that figure rests on and how many of them sold in the latest months.

If there are too few similar-size sales, we compare the home's floor area with linked standard sales of its type instead.

Large for its type means the floor area is above the upper quarter and at least 20% above the median, and the price is in the dearest quarter or higher.

Small for its type means the floor area is below the lower quarter and at least 20% under the median, and the price is in the cheapest quarter or lower.

The same size test gives three more verdicts:

  • Low for a home this size: a large home priced in the cheapest quarter, which is worth asking about.
  • In line, and large for its type: a large home priced in the middle half.
  • High for its size: a small home priced in the middle half or above.

The typical size comes from the district when it has at least 20 linked sales of the type. Otherwise it comes from the postcode area, then England and Wales, and the check names which one it used.

When a recent sale leads the verdict and the asking price is above or below it, the check gives one finding, titled "Sold for" the price and how many months ago, with no separate price flag. The gap to the asking price shows in the summary strip and the verdict.

Percentages under 10 are shown to one decimal place.

The asking price per square metre appears only when there is a comparison with sales of a similar size.

If the home's own standard sale was 12 to 24 months ago, the verdict box also gives the asking price's gap to that sale. Otherwise, if the home has an index estimate, it gives the gap to that.

What stands out: the flags in a free check

A free check lists anything in the records that is worth raising with the agent. Each flag follows a fixed rule.

Flags and the rules behind them
FlagWhen we show it
Sold recentlyThe last recorded sale was in the past 24 months. When that sale leads the price verdict, the flag also gives its price, and the gap to the asking price shows in the summary strip and the verdict.
The last sale was not a standard saleHM Land Registry records it outside its standard sales (category B), for example a repossession or a sale to a company, or gives its type as Other.
Recorded as leaseholdThe last recorded sale was of a leasehold.
Sold as a new buildThe last sale was recorded as a new build and was in the past 10 years.
Energy rating EThe latest certificate is rated E.
Energy rating F or GThe latest certificate is rated F or G. We show this as a concern.
The energy certificate has expired, or none foundThe latest certificate is more than 10 years old, or we found none and the owner has not had it withheld.
Heated by oil or LPGThe certificate's heating or main fuel is oil or LPG.
Medium or high flood risk for the areaThe risk from rivers and the sea, or from surface water, is medium or high at the home's position. High is shown as a concern.
Recorded flooding hereThe home's position is inside a recorded flood outline or extent. It is shown as a concern if the last recorded flood was in the past 10 years, or there have been 3 or more since 2000. With a medium or high flood risk as well, the two are shown as one finding, which says both describe the area and land that flooded, not whether this building did.
In the coal mining reporting areaThe postcode's position is inside the Mining Remediation Authority's coalfield consultation area.
Radon in the areaThe 1 km square around the home is in class 3 or above on the radon atlas: at least part of it has 3% or more of homes estimated to have high radon.
Loud road traffic or railway noiseThe noise estimate on the loudest side of the home is 65 dB or more for the day, evening and night level, or 55 dB or more at night.
Recorded crime well above averageThe neighbourhood's crime rate per 1,000 residents is at least twice the England and Wales rate.
Slow broadband at the postcodeOfcom's data shows at least half the homes at the postcode cannot get a decent service of 10 Mbit/s.
A listed building, or probably listedA listed building recorded within about 15 metres has the home's number or name in its list entry, or the home's position is inside a listed building outline.
In a conservation area, or inside an Article 4 directionThe home's position is inside one in the planning data for England.
Asking price high or low against local sales, or for its sizeThe price verdict comes from local sales, not from the home's own sale, and is High, On the high side, Low, High for its size, Large for its type or Low for a home this size, or On the low side when price per square metre agrees. High is shown as a concern. If no floor area was used, the flag asks you to type it from the listing.
Asking price well above or below the last saleThe asking price is at least 25% above, or at least 20% below, the last standard sale moved with the UK House Price Index to the latest month published, which the flag names. When that gap already leads the verdict, there is no separate flag.

How we build council pages

Each council page uses standard sales of houses and flats from the last two years, with a median price for each of the last ten years. We place each sale in a council area by its own postcode, using the ONS Postcode Directory.

Postcode districts often cross council boundaries. We list each district under the council that holds most of its live postcodes, so a council page and the districts listed on it can cover slightly different homes.

We ask search engines to list a council page only when it has at least 300 standard sales. Where we rank places by price, we include only districts with at least 100 standard sales and councils with at least 300.

Figures in our guides

Where a guide gives a figure worked out by us, it says so next to the figure, with the dates and the number of records used. We recalculate these figures each month when the source data is refreshed.

What we do not use, and why

The free check is the one place we show a home's certificate: when you type the home's address, as the official register does, on a page search engines are told not to index.

Sale prices are shown with their addresses, as HM Land Registry permits for house price information.

Opt-outs and errors

Homeowners can ask for their energy certificate to be withheld from the official register. A withdrawn certificate leaves our copy and our checks within two days of MHCLG recording the removal, once our daily check of removals is running.

Until then, it leaves our copy at the next monthly refresh and our checks within 30 days.

You can also ask us to stop showing a home's certificate details or a sale record, as our privacy notice explains.

If something we show is wrong, please tell us or email support@ukpropertycheck.co.uk. If the error is in our working, we fix it and list it below. If it is in the source record, we will tell you who to contact to have it corrected.

Corrections

When we correct a figure or a statement on this site, we list it here with the date, the page and what changed.

  • 2 November 2026, the free check and the district pages. For about 38,000 postcodes where every home can get decent broadband but none superfast, the check said Ofcom had no figures, and district averages left them out. Both now include them.
  • 27 October 2026, What searches are done when you buy a house? We said UKHSA recommends reducing radon at or above the Action Level. Its Action Level page says to reduce it where the yearly average is above 200 becquerels per cubic metre.
  • 27 October 2026, How we look up flood risk. We said our storm names came from a list running to 2024/25 from three weather services. The list runs to the current season and includes storms named by other European services that the Met Office lists.

Photographs

The photographs in our guides come from Wikimedia Commons. We have cropped and resized them. Each is credited where it appears, and here.