Local authority search

If you are planning to buy a house or plot of land, or lease a property, you will need to know whether you will be charged for outstanding or ongoing services.

The search will provide you with important information so that you are aware of any charges or responsibilities you will be taking on when you exchange contracts.

The word ‘charge’ means any outstanding financial claim, restriction, decision or information which may affect a particular property or parts of land.

These include charges for such services as roads, restrictions such as tree preservation orders and conditions imposed on planning permissions, conservation areas, legal agreements and listed buildings.

The Local Land Search also provides other important information, for example if a property has been improved with the help of a Local Authority Grant, which would affect your reselling or renting out the property.

The Local Land Search is in two parts:

LLC1 Requisition for Search and Official Certificate of Search

This relates to all the registerable (financial) charges which could arise from improvement/renovation grants, tree preservation orders, conservation orders, smoke control and pending applications which have been approved with conditions from 1 August 1977.

CON29 Enquiries of the Local Authority (2016 Edition)

Enquiries 1 – 3 deal with enquiries relating to planning, highways and environmental services which may affect the property or land. You will reply to this for one inclusive based on cost recovery only in accordance with legislation.

CON29O Optional Enquiries of the Local Authority (2016 Edition)

Enquiries 4 – 22 are charged for individually and we only reply if the purchaser or the legal practitioner places a tick in the appropriate box on the front of the form.

You or your solicitor need to send us two copies of each form to our office with the fee together with plans (one copy if sent electronically).

We introduced an online form and payment system to help speed up your application. Payment can be made by debit card, credit card, BACS, cheque.

There has been a problem!

Local search request form online

Local search request form [pdf document].

Please do not send an additional copy through the post if submitting the form by email or by fax (for example, with a cheque for payment).

More information about fees or you can call to make a payment on 01325 405465.

Statement on charges for property search information [pdf document].