Land charge searches
When you buy a house or land your solicitor will usually go through a number of checks to make sure there are no problems that would restrict use or could result in a charge being directed at you as the owner of the property.
As part of one of those checks it is usual to have a local land charges search undertaken. This is usually organised by your solicitor on your behalf, but can also be carried out yourself as a "personal search".
Depending on what questions have been asked, the local land charges search will, among other things, identify:
- The planning history of the site and any queries arising over its use
- Any planning policies which affect the site
- Any developments directly affecting the site
- Environmental issues affecting the site (eg flood plains and radon gas areas)
Benefits of asking us to carry out your search
- We are the main source of the information included in your search, so we have the greatest understanding of what it will mean to you
- We are the only organisation authorised to sign the official form required for a search (form LLC1)
- We are fully insured, so you don't need to rely on third party insurance
- Your search will be accepted by all mortgage lenders
We offer an excellent service and our turnround time is on average two to three working days. We are happy to accept and return searches by email and payment can be made by cheque or online. Please ring us for more details.
Local land charges fees effective from 1 April 2009| Description | LLC1* | CON29R* | Total |
|---|
| First parcel of land | £30 | £70 | £100 |
| Each additional parcel | £15 | £15 | £30 |
| CON29 optional enquiries (except question 4, which should be made directly to our Planning team) | | | £15 |
| Additional enquiries (solicitor's own) | | | £25 |
Personal searches
You can carry out a personal search of the local land charges register yourself but you should be aware that you may have to interpret maps, index sheets and registers.
There is no charge for inspecting the Land Charges Register but we may make a charge if information is requested other than in person e.g by post or email. Most of the additional information we provide is available electronically and is currently free, but some departments such as Building Control or Environmental may charge for copies of documents, or for access to information that is not publicly available. You will need to ask the relevant department about any charges and whether you need to book an appointment in advance.
Our office hours are 8.45am to 5.15pm Monday to Thursday, and 8.45am to 4.45pm Friday. We are based in Queen Victoria Road, High Wycombe, and our reception desk will be happy to advise on where you should go to access any public registers.
*What's the difference between LLC1 and CON29
The LLC1 is the main statutory form used to submit a search. It will ask for the basic details of charges currently recorded against a property but does not show all the information. The CON29 is the form which "fills in the gaps" and asks questions about pending matters, such as new road schemes. The CON29 form is split into 2 sections - the CON29R, which includes important questions which are all required to be answered, and the CON29O, which contains optional questions.
We are now obliged to publish the number of requests for searches received together with our estimates of expenditure and income received. You can see this via the link below.