Local land charges

When you buy a house or piece of land, your solicitor will ask for searches. These make sure there are no hidden surprises. These may include:

• prohibitions held against the property

• land or outstanding notices requiring you to put right an earlier wrongdoing

We must maintain and update this information for the whole borough.

A full search has two parts:

• the CON29

• the LLC1

CON29

A CON29 search provides information held by us about matters that may affect a property. These could be:

• planning decisions

• building regulations

• road schemes

• environmental notices

We can supply the CON29 to solicitors.

LLC1

This checks the local land charges register. It looks for restrictions or obligations affecting the property.

HM Land Registry conducts LLC1 searches using information that we record and supply.

Why should I use an official council search?

The Law Society, which regulates solicitors, encourages the use of official council searches.

What if you lack the time for an official search?

You must get approval from the client. Then alternative personal searches of the statutory register, can be done. These disclose only limited information.

You should confirm with your solicitor that an official search has been undertaken. You should also inspect the certificate of official search.

Why do I need a local search?

Your solicitor could choose not to use us for the CON29. They could opt to use a third-party company. This is known as a personal search.

Our insurance would not cover this information.

Important insurance information

Please note: if your solicitor does not use us for the CON29, instead opting to using a third-party company, referred to as a personal search then the information provided is not covered by our insurance.

Your rights

You can tell you solicitor which search you want:

• an official search that is checked and guaranteed to be complete and up to date

• a third-party personal search