Search local land charges

How Land Charges work

A Local Land Charges search is an essential part of buying and selling homes and land.

A request for a search is sent to the relevant local authority when a property or parcel of land is purchased, leased, mortgaged or a valuation carried out. If you are the buyer, the search is usually submitted by your solicitor or licensed conveyancer.   

The search process reveals important information about the property or land being bought or sold. 

Official searches

Official searches are made up of an LLC1 and CON29 and CON29O forms.

The standard local land charges search is divided into 2 parts:

• LLC1 - Form LLC1 is a search of the local land charges register and will tell you if, for example, the property is a listed building or if it is in a conservation or smoke control zone. It'll also tell you if any trees on the property are protected by tree preservation orders.
• CON29(R) - The CON29(R) contains a series of standard questions covering planning, highways, building control and environmental health.

There are also a series of optional enquiries that can be asked by submitting form CON29(O).

Your solicitor or licensed conveyancer will submit the search application online along with the appropriate fee to the Local Land Charges Team. Currently we return search applications within 3 working days once payment has been received.

We are connected to the National Land Information Service (NLIS) at Level 3, which means that search applications can be submitted electronically, as well as by post or via the Document Exchange System (DX).