The solicitor or licensed conveyancer acts on behalf of the property buyer or the tenant, and liaises with the local authority who are responsible for carrying out the local authority Search. Once the local authority gets involved in the search, it takes an average of two to three weeks to complete the process. The timescale depends on which local authority carries out the search. However, the process can be made quicker by carrying out a ‘personal search’. This means paying extra additional cost for a faster service, usually completed within two or three days.[2]
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A Local Authority Search Purposes
The main purpose of a local search is to protect property buyers from any unpleasant eventualities and therefore, is a key element in the conveyancing process. The local search will provide information that is designed to reveal any potential problems or issues with the property and the surrounding area, which enables the buyer to make an informed decision on the current state of the property. The local search is essentially designed to provide important information that would potentially influence the renting out or future reselling of the property.[3]
Local Authority Search Inclusions
A local authority search comprises two separate parts consisting of two different documents:
LLC 1 (the Official Certificate of Search Form)
The LLC1 form is obtained from HMSO (Her Majesty’s Stationery Office) and is in general submitted by the solicitor or licensed conveyancer of the property buyer. The following information could be obtained from LLC 1, a search of the local land charges register[4]:
- Listed buildings
- Conservation areas
- Tree protection orders
- Improvement or Renovation grants
- Smoke control zones
- Future developments
CON 29 (Enquiries of the Local Authority Form)
The CON 29 document consists of two separate parts; CON 29(R) and CON 29(O). Examples of the environmental information that are provided by CON 29(R) include the following:
- Building control history
- Nearby road schemes and motorways
- Contaminated land
- Radon gas
The CON 29(O) form deals with a number of extra enquiries, which are optional depending on the property circumstances. Examples of the enquiries dealt with by the CON 29(O) include the following[5]:
- Road proposals by private bodies
- Public paths or byways
- Advertisements
- Completion notices
- Parks and countryside
- Pipelines
- Houses in multiple occupation
- Noise abatement
- Urban development areas
- Enterprise zones
- Inner urban improvement areas
- Simplified planning zones
- Land maintenance notices
- Mineral consultation areas
- Hazardous substance consents
- Environmental and pollution notices
- Food safety notices
- Hedgerow notices
- Common land, Town & village Greens
Local Authority Search Affected Areas
A Local Authority Search will affect all residential and commercial properties in England and Wales. The information required from the search is maintained by every local authority in England and Wales. In Scotland and Ireland, there are still a number of searches required to be carried out in the process, not specifically called a Local Authority Search.
What is a Local Authority
A Local Authority is a government subdivision of England and Wales, and is responsible for many services in the area it covers. Each area of England and Wales is covered by a local Council or Authority, which are responsible for maintaining various services in the area. In many cases, a local council is the lower tier authority in an area. For example, Cheshire in England, which is a non-Metropolitan and Ceremonial county, manages services such as the police, library, education, transport and fire services. Cheshire is actually split into two smaller council areas for the purpose of Local Authority Searches, Cheshire-East and Cheshire-West. In addition, your area may be governed by a Unitary Authority, which would provide all the services that Cheshire does but is not subdivided any further, meaning a Unitary Authority would also be responsible for the Local Authority Search.
The only exception to the rule is Greater London, which is a top level Administration division of England, and each of the 32 boroughs included is the responsible for the Local Authority Search.
Getting in Touch with the Local Authority
When purchasing a residential or commercial property in England or Wales, then it is a requirement for the property buyer to get in touch with the Local Authority in the area. Depending on how the geographical location is divided council wise, it may be necessary to carry out a research to find out which local council exactly is responsible for dealing with the Local Authority Search in the area.
A list of Local Authorities can be found via the Direct Government UK website, which also allows the users to filter search by postcode or area.
See also
References
- ^ “Undertaking Local Searches”. http://www.movehut.co.uk/commercial-property-guides/commercial-property-buyers-guide/buying-a-commercial-property-local-searches.
- ^ “The Guardian: The local authority search”. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2001/aug/07/timetable.factsheetsonmovinghome1.
- ^ “Local authority search”. http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Page.aspx?pageIdentifier=701372a1-3f53-41b4-967f-ca28db5971e5.
- ^ “City of York Council: Local Land Charges Search”. http://www.york.gov.uk/housing/Land_and_premises/Local_land_charges_search/.
- ^ “North Hertfordshire Council: More about CON 29 Forms”. http://www.north-herts.gov.uk/index/environment_and_planning/local_land_charge_searches/more_about_con_29_forms.htm.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Local Authority Search, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.