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 being planned at the bottom of your garden or outstanding Notices requiring you to take action to remedy an earlier wrong-doing.
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 (external), which regulates solicitors, encourages the use of official searches:
- It considers that alternative personal searches of the statutory register, which only disclose 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
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 please enclose a cheque drawn on the solicitor's client account made out with the correct amount to the Land Charges section.
- Cheques should be made payable to the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
- Clients' own cheques are not accepted as a method of payment.
- Please quote the correct address, 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.
How to request a search
The Forms to request a search are LLC1, CON29R and CON29O and these can be submitted separately.
