Local Land Charges

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 Notices requiring you to take action to remedy an earlier wrong doing.

You can also make a personal search of the Land Charges Register.

Information about local land charges are below.

Official Local Land Charge Searches

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 Law Society, which regulates solicitors, encourages the use of official searches and considers that alternative personal searches of the statutory register, disclosing only limited information, should only be undertaken with the approval of the client when time does not permit official searches. You are advised to confirm with your solicitor that an official search has been undertaken and to inspect the Certificate of Official Search.

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 to Reigate & Banstead Borough Council or a card payment may be taken.

Please contact us regarding the fee using the contact details above.

The correct address quoted together with an up-to-date scale plan in duplicate showing the extent and location of the land subject of search, clearly edged in red.

Water searches

Thames Water looks after the network of public sewers in Reigate and Banstead.

If you are asking for a search to be undertaken or you are waiting to undertake a personal search, please contact your water company on 0118 9236 656.

Fees

Fees webpage 

What about CON 29 questions?

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:

• many informal notices under planning and highways laws not found on any register
• proposed enforcement action or breach of conditions notices.

How to request a search

There are full instructions on the Local Land Charge Search forms. Your solicitor will have these forms or you can buy them from law stationers.

Both the LLC1 and CON29 forms should be submitted at the same time if answers to both are required.

Please note we are unable to answer highway related additional questions, these need to be directed to the Highways Information Team (Surrey County Council) website.

Our commitment to you

We aim to return all official searches within three working days and in any case within four working days.

View our success at the national Local Land Charges awards.

• Awards 2019 (Word)