Local land charges – full search

When you buy a house, your solicitor will make a search of the Council's records to ensure there are no hidden surprises such as motorways at the bottom of your garden or outstanding planning notices requiring you to remedy an earlier building error.

The local land charge section carries out all official searches covered by the Local Land Charges Act 1975, guaranteeing comprehensive replies to the official LLC1 and CON29 enquiries.

The Council, by law, must keep a land charges register. This is a comprehensive record of properties in the borough from residential houses to commercial buildings.

The register includes information such as planning permissions, highway status and proposals, conservation area designation, tree preservation orders, enforcement notices, improvement grants and financial charges.

The Council uses the information on this register to respond to land charge searches when property changes hands. 100 percent of land charges searches are done within five working days.  

Maps and plans

To avoid confusion, please include an up to date OS plan at 1:1,250 scale with the site clearly marked.

Scale of fees

The search will be in two parts:

LLC1 - this first part, the 'Official Certificate of Search Form', deals with all the registerable charges, for example financial charges registered against the property by the local authority, improvement grants, tree preservation orders, conditional planning consents and agreements.

CON29 - the second part, called 'Enquiries of Local Authorities Form', deals with issues such as road schemes, the planning history of the property and various notices which affect the property.

Please note that searches must include the following when submitted to be accepted for processing:

• if a search is submitted by a solicitor, cheques drawn on the solicitor's client account are requested, made out with the correct amount
• the correct address and an up to date scale plan in duplicate showing the extent and location of the land in question clearly edged in red
• client's own cheques are not accepted as a method of payment. Please contact us regarding the fees using the contact details below.

The CON 29 enquiries questionnaire, which forms part of the official search, contains many 'warning' questions, the answers to which you will not find on any of the statutory registers.

Examples of the information only to be found by submitting a CON 29 are given below:

• compulsory purchase orders
• many informal notices under planning and highways laws not found on any register
• road proposals or schemes (including road widening)
• proposed enforcement action or breach of conditions notices.

How to access the service

There are full instructions on the local land charge search forms which are kept by your solicitor or can be purchased from legal stationers.

HIPS Schedule 6 Statement

Information Required Under Schedule 6 Part 1 of the Home Information Pack (No. 2) Regulations 2007.

In responding to forms submitted officially to us for completion, the Council of the London Borough of Lewisham inspects all relevant original documentation, statutory registers, public documents, committee reports and other information held by us necessary to provide the responses to the questions.

The search reports are completed by the Proper Officer of the Council on behalf of the Council of the London Borough of Lewisham and are signed by her.

All enquiries relating to any issues or errors arising from such reports should be sent to:

Local Land Charges
Planning Services
London Borough of Lewisham
5th Floor, Laurence House
Catford SE6 4RU

DX 139501 Lewisham 4
Telephone: 020 8314 6262
Email: landcharges@lewisham.gov.uk

The Council of the London Borough of Lewisham maintains a contract of insurance with an insurer, as required by paragraph 7 of Schedule 6 to the Home Information Pack (No. 2) Regulations 2007. In preparing search reports, the Council of the London Borough of Lewisham is liable for any negligent or incorrect entry in the records searched, and any negligent or incorrect interpretation or recording of these records in the search reports.

What happens next

We aim to return 90 per cent of official searches within 24 hours and no later than 48 hours.