Spoken versionLand Charges
Local searches are an important part of the home buying process. The local land charges register is a register of information on properties in the area of a local authority. This register is maintained & searches made, under the terms of the Land Charges Act & the local land charges rule 1977.
Search Types
- LLC1 & CON29R - Register search and required enquiries.
- LLC1 Only - Register only search
- PERSONAL SEARCH - A search of the land charges register carried out in person on payment of the prescribed fee.
- Access to CON29R data.
Fees
Our fees from 1st April 2009: (Residential and Commercial)
- LLC1 & CON29R - £98
- LLC1 Only - £29
- CON29R only £69
- Additional parcel of land - £20 - (LLC1 = £5; CON29R = £15) no restriction on number and a maximum charge equivalent to 20 extra parcels
- CON29O Optional enquiries - £12.00, with the exception of Commons Registration - £14.00 (If CON29O enquiries are made without request for CON29R, a one-off servicing charge will be made of £15).
- CON29 Own worded question - £25.00
- Personal search - £22 or £24 if the printed Land Charges and Highways information is required. (Highways questions from the CON29R 2a, 3, 4a, 4e, 4f are included in these fees).
Search requirements
For full Council Searches:-
- Two up-to-date plans for LLC1 and CON29R search.
- Solicitors cheque for full searches
- LCC1 & CON 29 forms x2 (the law society holds the copyright to form, which can be obtained from authorised suppliers
- Reading Borough Council operates a 'no cancellation policy' once work has commenced on any search (full or part)
Turnaround time averages 3-5 working days.
For Personal Searches:- (Appointments for access/charges to CON29R data listed separately)
We require 2/3 working days notice - appointments between 10:00am-12midday and 2pm-3.30pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - a copy of plan to be faxed or emailed at the time of the request. Payment by cheque [made payable to R.B.C], supported by a cheque guarantee card. THERE IS NO FACILITY FOR ACCEPTING CASH PAYMENTS..
Booking (For Personal Searches)
- Email - Use the 'Contact This Service' at the top right of this page.
- By fax: - See Contact This Service' at the top right of this page - Click on the A to Z link.
- By phone: Monday - Friday (strictly) 10 - 11am & 3 - 4pm (See Contact This Service' at the top right of this page.)
You can self-book an appointment at the time of your request using the following (restricted) time slots: (Mon/Tues/Thurs/Friday) 11am - 12noon or 2pm - 3pm but please allow at least 2 working days (48 hours) from the time of your request.
Up to 15 addresses can be searched per Searcher per day.
Acknowledgement of requests made during the working day will normally be made within 2 hours.
Access / Charges for CON29R Component Data
Information Commissioner's Office: guidance on property search information and the Environmental Information Regulations issued 16th July 2009
Reading 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.
While we seek such guidance, property search information will of course remain available to search companies under our existing access and charging regime under the Local Authorities (England)(Charges for Property Searches) Regulations 2008.
Prices:
Below is the schedule of prices for the CON29R enquiries (See attached PDF "CON29R Prices - April 2009" at the bottom of this page), some of which are free by statute, which can be accessed by appointment. The prices are two-tier and can thus be copied or taken away 'compiled' for a higher price.
Collection:
The search results will be made available, as at present for a Personal Search, through the Local Land Charges section in Fountain House, Queens Walk, Reading. This building is close by the Reading Borough Council Civic Centre.
Payment:
Payment for component data must be made at the time of ordering. A search cannot be commenced until the fee is received.
Ordering:
The order form can be faxed, emailed, phoned or posted/DX to the Land Charges section in respect of each property required to be searched. The order form should be accompanied by a plan and the fee for the component data (only). There may be enough space in the 'description of property' box for you to order several properties on one form providing the required questions asked are identical.
The 'compiled' fee (the total fee you would pay if you request all the CON29R information and take it away) is £69. This equates to the £69 fee chargeable for a full Local Authority Search of the CON29R.
Turnaround time:
The turnaround time for any CON29R information will be 5 working days from receipt of the search request and fee (the same as for a full search which we advertise as 35 working days). We will have the responses available for viewing/collection to meet that deadline to avoid any inconvenience and wasted journey. If we don't meet that deadline then we will fax/send you the search results at no extra charge.
Cancellation Policy:
Reading Borough Council operates a 'no cancellation policy' once work has commenced on any search (full or part).
Available/free information relating to CON29R (required enquiries)
Planning
1.1 (a e) Applications, decisions and pending applications:
Information is available on the Council's website for years 2005 to date
Information is available at Planning Reception on the ground floor of the Civic Centre.
(no appointment is necessary but advance notice may mean that information can be ready for you on your arrival)
1.2 Planning designations and proposals:
The information is available by consulting public local plans (which are currently under review).
A copy is available at the Planning Reception in the Civic Centre.
3.10 (a) Conservation Area
Information is available on the Council's website
Information is available at the Council's Planning Reception from the conservation maps.
Building Control
(limited information on applications from 1989 onwards is available on the Council's website)
3.3(b) Building over sewer agreements etc
Thames Water hold these records. Reading Borough Council hold copies of some of the older ones which will appear on the Local Land Charges Register.
3.13 Radon gas
General guidance available free of charge on request. A chargeable report may be obtained from the British Geological Society from their website.
Highways
2. (a) Highways maintainable at public expense
Available to view free of charge as part of a Personal Search on request.
3.4 (a, e, f) Nearby road schemes
Is the property (or will it be) within 200 metres of any of the following?
a) a the centre line of a new trunk road or special road specified in any order , draft order or scheme
Available to view free of charge as part of a Personal Search on request.
e) the centre line of the proposed route of a new road under proposals published for public consultation
Available to view free of charge as part of a Personal Search on request.
f) the outer limits of
Available to view free of charge as part of a Personal Search on request.
Environmental Health
3.12 a, b (ii) Contaminated land
The contaminated land register is on the Council's website
COPY DOCUMENTS obtained from Land Charges department and requested by letter or fax on headed paper
A standard charge of £20 per document for the following:
- Section 106 Agreement/further agreement/deed of variation/unilateral undertaking
- Section 52 Agreement
- Section 38 Agreement
- Compulsory Purchase Order
- Tree Preservation Order
- Building Over Sewer agreement
(If any of the above have colour plans that require outsourcing or are costly to reproduce then there may be additional costs of which the customer would be advised before proceeding)
- Smoke Control Order (£10)
- Enforcement Notice (£10)
SEARCH REQUESTS THROUGH NLIS
Land charges receive and send searches back electronically via NLIS, a one stop shop for Land and Property information. The links below are for licensed NLIS Channels via which searches can be carried out subject to registration.
Our fees are £88 for a full search (£27 LLC1; £61 CON29R). There are likely to be additional charges from the NLIS Hub and the NLIS Channel.
Downloads
Some of the following documents are in pdf format. You can download and install a free PDF reader to enable you to read and print them. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Reader from the Adobe website.
| File | Type | Size | Download Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| CON29R Prices - April 2009 | 62 KB | 56Kbps Modem: 15 Seconds Broadband : 1 Second |
External Links
Reading Borough Council does not necessarily endorse or recommend any of the links or services below. Please note: when you follow these links you will leave this site.
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| MDA SearchFlow | Licensed NLIS Channel |