There are 5 types of search that can be carried out by the local authority:
LLC1 Only
This is an application for an Official Certificate of Search of the Local Land Charges Register as maintained by the Local Land Charges team. Submitted by applicants on form LLC1, it does not provide the prospective purchaser with any of the additional information that comes with a Full Search.
The current fee for the LLC1 Search is £40.00 for both paper and NLIS electronic applications.
Con29(R) Only
The Con29(R) 2007 Edition is a set of standard, (or 'Required') enquiries that normally accompany the LLC1 when solicitors submit a full Local Land Charges Search. However, the HIPs (Home Information Packs) regulations specify that local authorities should respond to these enquiries, upon submission of the required fee, even if the LLC1 is not required.
The current fee for the Con29(R) enquiries is £74.00 for paper searches and NLIS electronic applications.
Con29(O) Only
The Con29(O) 2007 Edition is a set of optional enquiries, which solicitors may raise, at an additional fee, along with the required enquiries. As with the Con29(R), regulations now allow for individual optional enquiries to be raised with or without an accompanying Con29(R) or LLC1.
The current fee for Con29(O) enquiries is £15.00 for both paper and NLIS searches.
Please note:
There will be an additional administration fee of £15.00 if one or more optional enquiries are raised without an accompanying Con29(R) or LLC1.
Full Local Land Charges Search
A search submitted with both the LLC1 and Con29(R) forms is known as a Full Local Land Charges Search, to which optional enquiries may be added if required. All forms should be supplied in duplicate, together with an adequate site location plan in duplicate showing location and extent of the search area.
Many of the questions contained on the CON29(R) form are considered to be 'warning' questions. Some of the information given may, at the end of the process, end up on the Local Land Charges Register. However, all the information given will assist a purchaser in deciding whether or not to proceed with the proposed purchase.
As previously stated, in addition to the standard CON29(R) questions there are 19 optional CON29(O) questions that may be asked depending on the type and location of the land or property. An additional fee is payable per optional enquiry raised. Whenever a property or parcel of land is being purchased we would strongly advise that an Official LLC1 and CON29(R) be submitted to the relevant Local Authority.
Form LLC1 is an Official request, submitted in duplicate by a Legal Practitioner or a member of the public to the appropriate Local Authority asking for a search of the Local Land Charges Register to be conducted. The Local Authority is under a statutory duty to comply with that request. However, the CON29(R) form is a contractual document and by accepting the fee the Local Authority agrees to answer some or all of the questions contained on the form. The fees for forms LLC1 and Con29(R) and (O) are not set by statute, and are therefore set by each individual authority.
Refresher Searches
For a reduced fee of £80.00, and subject to certain conditions, this authority now has the facility to provided refresher searches, if required.
The fee is £80.00, which includes refreshing and updating if necessary, the LLC1 and the Con29(R) replies.
The conditions are:-
- For residential properties only.
- The applicant must be the original customer.
- The search area and plan must be the same.
- It must be applied for within 6 months of the original search.
Personal Search
This authority provides a system for private search companies to carry out personal searches of the LLC register. For a fee of £11.00, access will be provided to the datasets used by the LLC Team for obtaining LLC and Planning register entries.
Using the guidance provided by this authority, private search companies will be able to interogate the Local Land Charge and Planning registers. Howerver there is certain LLC data from the last 4 or 5 years which is only held on the LLC computer system, TLC. Any such data will still be provided in the form of a print out for the personal searcher to view at their visit. For this reason, we do require at least 48 hours notice of a personal search appointment, and a plan of the search area in order to provide this information.