Local land charges

Fee and VAT changes

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has changed VAT requirements. As a result, we will be adding VAT to Local Authority searches from 31 March 2017. 

Our search fees will be changing to meet the requirements of the Local Land Charges fee guidance on 1 April 2017.  

For more details, please see What is the cost of a search?

What is a Local Land Charge?

A Local Land Charge is a restriction on a particular parcel of land, whether to secure the payment of a sum of money, or limiting the use to which the land may be put, and is binding on successive owners or occupiers of that parcel of land. These restrictions would not normally be shown on your deeds and therefore your solicitor would perform a Local Authority Search as part of your conveyancing when you buy or re-mortgage a property or land to highlight any of these charges.

The search usually consists of two parts. The LLC1 form is a search of the Local Land Charges Register only and shows charges such as conditional planning consents and agreements, tree preservation orders, enforcement notices and financial charges. The CON29 form consists of a series of standard questions giving information on highways, planning history and notices which affect the property.

Depending on which questions have been asked, the Local Land Charges search will among other things identify:

• The planning history of the site and any developments which directly affect it.
• The planning policies which affect the site.