Local Land Charges

 

Details of local authority searches and land charges.

Local Land Charges
Development House
Lombard Street
West Bromwich
B70 8RU

DX 14609 West Bromwich.

Telephone: 0121 569 3207/8, 3256/7, 3798, 4067
Fax: 0121 569 3241
Email: angela_price@sandwell.gov.uk

Reception Opening hours: Monday - Thursday 8.30am - 5.30pm. Friday 8.30am - 5.00pm.

From 17th August 2010, Local Authorities will no longer charge for Personal Search requests.  We have chosen to remove this charge as of 1st August 2010 and will be providing the following 2 options for access to the data which will be available from 17th August 2010.

Compiled Data

If you would like to receive a compiled document containing the Land Charges Registrations on a specific property (as previously provided), we will provide this information in an electronic format at a cost of £22.00 directly back to your email account.

For this service please email :- angela_price@sandwell.gov.uk

Raw Data

If you would like to inspect the raw data of the Land Charges Register on specific properties (4 in total daily), you may do so free of charge.  It will be your responsibility to identify and interpret the information unaided.

For this service you must use the Search Appointment Diary which is available 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, up to 10 working days in advance.

Please note: In the interim period we will still provide you with the compiled results from the Land Charges Register for your inspection.

Online Appointment Book Operating times for Personal Searches 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday. (For more information go to our Personal Searches section below.)

You can apply online for your Local Authority Search.  Its quick and easy to use and we will email your completed search back to you as soon as we are in receipt of your payment. (Plese note that the price for this service is £89.10 and not £99.00 as stated on the form. We are in the process of updating or records)

If you do not wish to complete the online form you can email us (angela_price@sandwell.gov.uk) with the property address and your telephone number and we will contact you for payment and return your request electronically.

If you wish to check if your site is within the jurisdiction of Sandwell, you can carry out a search via our Public Access Property Search.

What's it all about?

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.

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.

Please note that all full residential Local Authority Searches (LLC1 and Con29) deposited will receive a Limestone report, copies of Approved Town Planning Decision Notices, Tree Preservation Order, Listed Building, Conservation Area Plans, Building Regulation Approval Notices and Completion Certificates free of charge.

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.

Water Searches

Water Searches, including sewers and drainage, are conducted by Severn Trent Water Ltd.. Ring them on 0115 962 7269 to arrange a search. Note: The Water Company will levy a separate charge for this service.

As from 1st April 2010 the revised Local Land Charges Fees will be as follows:

LLC1

Additional parcels of land: LLC1

£15.00

£2.00 each

Con29

Additional parcels of land: Con29
(to an additional maximum of £300.00)

£84.00

£18.00 each

Full Local Authority Search - Residential Property

(LLC1, Con29(R), Limestone and copy documents)
A Free refresh service is available to the original applicant
within six months of receipt

£99.00

Full Local Authority Search - Non Residential

(LLC1, Con29(R), Limestone)

£176.00

Compiled Con29(R) data (including Publicly available information) (Please complete and return the form available)£78.00 (Form)
Compiled Con29(R) data (excluding Publicly available information) (Please complete and return the form available)

£64.00 (Form)

Con29(O) enquiries (5-22)£10.00 each

Limestone Enquiries (free with Full Local Authority Search)

Landfill Enquiries

£20.00

£10.00

Compiled search of the land charges register (from 17th August 2010)£22.00
Copy Documents:
Section 38 Agreements
Section 106 Agreements
Tree Preservation Order
Combined Drainage Agreements


£30.00
£30.00
£15.00
£15.00

Full Residential Local Authority Searches only: Planning and Building Regulation approvals are attached free of charge. Copies of any of the above copy documents can also be provided free of charge upon request.

A 10% discount is offered for all electronic submissions and return.

Note: Searches will not be processed without the correct fee being paid. Cheques should be made payable to Sandwell MBC or a debit/credit card payment can be taken by telephoning 0121 569 4067 or 3256.

Here is a guide to access and charging for compiled and non compiled Con29 data for your information.

Guaranteed Quantity Bulk Discount

As of 1st July 2007, if you submit 25 or more Local Authority Residential Searches electronically within one calendar month, we will be able to offer you a discount price of £81.18 per search deposited.

If you are interested in taking up this offer, please contact us for further details.

Telephone: 0121 569 3207/8 0121 569 3256/7
Fax: 0121 569 3241
Email: angela_price@sandwell.gov.uk

Personal Searches

Information Commissioner's Office: guidance on property search information and the Environmental Information Regulations

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has received the above guidance document and is currently in the process of interpreting its contents.

The Council is not obliged to follow the guidance of the Information Commissioner's Office on this issue, as it is not statutory and we have chosen not to follow this guidance at this time pending legal opinion which the Local Government Association is seeking on behalf of the sector.

20th July 2009

Local Land Charges Register Search Electronic Appointment Book - From 10th March 2008

By selecting Appointment Book above you will gain access to the system. Once you have read and agreed the terms of the system we will forward your password to open the diary.

User guide on how to use the Appointment Book.

From 1 August 2007

Local Enquiries (CON29 “Required”)

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council is currently operating in accordance with the 2005 “Personal Searches Guidance for Local Authorities and Personal Searchers”

Information is accessible in respect of the unitary development plan, the planning applications and decisions register, the stop and enforcement register.

The Definitive Footpaths/Public Rights of way Register information can be obtained by contacting 0121 569 4151. Road adoption information can be obtained by contacting Highways on 0121 569 4820.

Post 1996 Building Regulation information can be obtained by writing in with a fee of £20.00 to Mrs T Hollingworth, Development House, Lombard Street, West Bromwich.

Where information does not form part of a statutory register, public document or record, we are working towards making more of that information available as soon as is practical.

We await any resultant guidance or policy decisions that may arise from the Government Consultation document on access to information.

We also await the outcomes of the work currently being undertaken into the three OFT options for a charging regime for access to/the provision of information that is currently being undertaken on behalf of Central Government in response to the December 2006 OFT report in to the Property Searches Market.

The Council is experiencing a rise in the number of personal searches, despite the speedy turnaround time for official searches.

If you are a Private Search company who wish to book an appointment for a vist, please note that we operation a first come first served appointment system which operates from 9.00am daily with a restricted amount of places available.

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:

If you rely on a personal search from a solicitor or personal search company may we remind you that they are not given, or entitled to receive, answers to the questions on the CON 29, and any information they do obtain is not covered by Section 10(3) of the Local Land Charges Act 1975 which relates to compensation for loss.

The only way to receive this information is to submit the official LLC1 and CON 29 forms.

Our Commitment to You

We aim to return all official searches within 2-3 working days. We also offer a 24 hour expedited service for urgent searches, which is free of charge with limitations on numbers requested.

For details relating to the service (including fee details) please contact the Local Land Charges Office on one of the telephone numbers 0121 569 3207/8/3256/7/3798/4067.