Subsidence, settlement and heave
GOV.UK lets you check whether a property is affected by coal mining. Why does walking the garden not complete that check?
Walking the garden does not complete that check. GOV.UK's mining check, and a coal mining report, are separate products from the home survey. A walk records what is visible: uneven ground, a cover, or disturbed soil if those things show. It does not search official mining records, and it does not reveal old workings that leave no mark on the lawn. The survey has not decided the property is clear of coal-mining risk because the garden looked even.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Records of shafts, seams and past workings sit with the mining data, not with the grass. A cap can be buried, a depression can have another cause, and a level lawn can overlie recorded entries. The home survey did not carry out the GOV.UK check and did not commission a coal mining report. Those products answer a different question from cracks in paths or a sloping border. Confusing a stroll with a search would leave the official record unread.
Ask the solicitor to obtain the mining check or a coal mining report as a search, and keep the result with the legal papers. A claim for coal-mining subsidence is not something the surveyor opens by default. Do not invent a search radius or a fee, and do not tell a lender the garden walk stands in for the official check. If the search names a risk, that paper, not this inspection, is what describes it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was the garden walk kept separate from any mining search?
- Has a coal mining report been ordered as its own product?
- Did the survey avoid opening any subsidence claim?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the garden notes as visible ground only.
- Ask the solicitor for a mining check or coal mining report.
- Do not describe the walk as completing GOV.UK's check.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Can a dip in the lawn still be reported on its own?
Yes. A dip, a patch of filled ground or a cover can be described as what was seen. That description is not a mining search and does not prove a shaft. The survey records the surface. Cause, if it is coal mining, belongs to the separate check and not to the walk.
Does a clear lawn cancel a mining record?
No. An even garden does not erase an entry in mining records, and it does not complete the GOV.UK check. The home survey did not read those records. If a coal mining report names a feature, the lawn's appearance does not delete it. Keep the search result with the solicitor.