CoPSO- Climate Change Compliance Note

New Compliance Note Sets Mandatory Standards for Climate Searches to Strengthen Trust and Reliability Across the Sector

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has issued a new Climate Change Compliance Note to reinforce the quality, accuracy, and consistency of climate searches produced by Search Code subscribers. The guidance establishes mandatory content, coverage requirements, standards, and assessment criteria that all search compilers must follow.

This initiative aims to ensure the Search Code continues to stand as a trusted hallmark of reliability—providing legal practitioners and consumers with confidence that climate search products adhere to the highest industry standards.

Under the new Compliance Note, certain content and coverage elements are defined as mandatory and must be included in every Climate Search produced by a Search Code subscriber. These requirements safeguard consistency across the market and ensure that all reports provide the essential information needed to support informed decision-making during property transactions.

In addition to the mandatory elements, the Compliance Note acknowledges that search compilers may choose to include optional, non-mandatory content within their climate reports. Where such elective content is added, additional requirements or standards may apply. The Compliance Note therefore sets out the specific obligations that must be met when optional content is incorporated, ensuring that even elective elements uphold the integrity and expectations associated with the Search Code.

Allison Bradbury, CoPSO Chair said:

“This new Compliance Note reflects our ongoing commitment to quality, transparency, and consumer protection. By clarifying both required and elective content standards, we are supporting search providers in delivering climate reports that legal professionals and homebuyers can rely on with complete confidence.”

The introduction of this Compliance Note marks a significant step in strengthening industry-wide consistency and promoting best practice in the rapidly evolving climate data and reporting landscape.

Kindly shared by CoPSO