What is a Local Land Charge
A Local Land Charge is required whenever a property is sold, purchased, leased or re-mortgaged. The charge reviews whether there are any restrictions or prohibitions on the property and whether it is subject to charge (if that charge has been registered). Completion of the search is informed by the Local Land Charges register which historically Local Authorities have been required to maintain.
There are three main search types that return different types of information.
Local Land Charge Register Search (LLC1). Provides information held in the Local Land Charges Register and covers any charges or attendant restrictions relating to the land or property in question. This information can include whether the property is a listed building or whether it is subject to a Tree Protection Order.
CON29. Provides answers to the property/land that only the council hold information regarding. This can include recent statutory noise complaints or any road proposals and traffic schemes that affect the property.
Environment Information Regulations (EIR). Provides environmental information held on council records, for example information on Building Regulations.
The 18 April changes
On 18 April 2023, the responsibility of the Local Land Charges Register, and production of LLC1 searches, is migrating from West Lindsey District Council to HM Land Registry which will allow users to search information online instantly and enable buying decisions to be made earlier in the conveyancing process.
You will be able to request an LLC1 search through the HM Land Registry Portal, Business Gateway and at GOV.UK's search for local land charges page. GOV.UK also provide guidance on the Local Land Charges Programme.
This migration will mean that searches requested on or after 18th April will be submitted directly through the HM Land Registry Portal rather than being submitted directly to West Lindsey District Council. We will continue to update you on progress closer to the migration date.
In order to facilitate this migration, there will be a cut off date of 5pm on 11 April 2023. Any requests for information on the local land charges register submitted to us after this date will be returned and should be raised directly with HM Land Registry through their Portal after the migration date of 18 April 2023.
We will continue to manage CON29 and EIR searches after the migration however we are unable to process any received from 11 April to the 18 April 2023. Any requests sent during this time may not be recorded or completed until after 19 April 2023.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Local Land Charges team at LocalLandCharges@west-lindsey.gov.uk if you have any questions or require any assistance during the migration.