Article: Local Land Charges and Local Authority Searches Article Body Whether you're buying or selling a property, or you are a conveyancer or estate agent, we can help you. What is the Local Land Charges service? The Local Land Charges service has a vital role to play in protecting the financial and legal interests of prospective purchasers of land and property, by providing information on land and property and by giving access to the Local Land Charges Register. The Local Land Charges service is a statutory function within the council that provides the information contained in a Local Authority Search, whether it's to inform your house purchase or sale or to complete your official conveyancing searches. The Local Land Charges team works closely with Planning, Highways, Building Control, Regulatory Services and Strategic Housing to provide the excellent service our customers have come to expect. With 45 years experience and a vast knowledge of both relevant legislation and the local area we provide a fast, accurate, reliable and fully guaranteed service. Since 1 April 2010 94% of all search requests have been completed within five working days, with the average turnaround time being three working days. The Local Land Charges service is located in a non public access building therefore any correspondence should be addressed to:- PO Box 634 Barnsley S70 9GG Telephone: 01226 773054 Email: locallandcharges@barnsley.gov.uk What is a Local Authority Search? A Local Authority Search is a document which is a compulsory part of the conveyancing process. The Local Authority Search gives the solicitor, on behalf of the home mover, vital information on the property or land prior to completion. This information includes charges for services such as roads, restrictions such as tree preservation orders and conditions imposed in planning permissions, conservation areas, legal agreements and listed buildings. The Local Authority Search is in three parts:- LLC1 Form The LLC1 reveals registrations held on the Local Land Charges Register. This contains prohibitions or charges which are binding on successive owners such as tree preservation orders, enforcement notices and outstanding financial charges. Con29R (Required) Form The local authority is the only body who holds all the up to date authoritative information to complete the Con29R (Required) Form in full. It gives information about, amongst other things, planning and building regulation applications, planning designations and proposals, if a roadway is maintained by the council, any nearby traffic and road schemes, whether the council has made a decision to compulsory purchase or acquire the property and whether the property falls within a radon affected area. Con29O (Optional) Form The enquiries on this part of the Con29 form may be more relevant to some properties than others. It gives information about, amongst other things, public footpaths, gas pipelines, houses in multiple occupation, noise abatement, environmental and pollution notices and Common Land and Town and Village Greens. How much does a Local Authority Search cost? In line with Government recommendations and legislation from 1 April 2009 local land charges fees are set on a cost recovery basis. For a full list of prices please see the Schedule of Search Fees. Annual Statement Published Under Section 9(1) of the Local Authorities (England) (Charges for Property Searches) Regulations 2008 Annual Statement Published Under Section 9(3) of the Local Authorities (England) Charges for Property Searches) Regulations 2008 How can a Local Authority Search be obtained? The Local Authority Search can be requested by post, email or electronically through the National Land Information Service (NLIS). Postal Searches These should be submitted to Local Land Charges, PO Box 634, Barnsley, S70 9GG with a cheque for the relevant fee either on official forms obtained from a law stationers or on our Postal LLC Request Form which can be printed from here. If an email address is supplied on a postal application the results will be returned in a pdf format. Email Searches Customers who use the service regularly are encouraged to set up an account for which they will be invoiced monthly in arrears. This will allow them to email requests using our Email LLC Request Form, to a dedicated inbox and have the replies emailed back in a pdf format. To open an account the Terms and Conditions of Payment Form must be completed and returned to us. Electronic Searches The National Land Information Service (NLIS) is a government-backed initiative to make all official searches available online. NLIS provides a one-stop-shop to all land and property information required in the conveyancing process, including the 410 local authorities in England and Wales, The Coal Authority and Land Registry. With NLIS, conveyancers and their customers can receive fast, cost-effective searches, without compromising on quality Barnsley Council is electronically connected to NLIS which means you can both send and receive searches electronically. Electronic processing using NLIS gives you a more reliable service and better quality information from source data providers. The benefits of NLIS: It saves time and money in processing searches It reduces search rejection rates to virtually zero It has easy to use technology - all you need is an internet connection to start using it immediately It is a flexible and competitive service to meet your specific needs The Make sure it's electronic. Make sure it's NLIS leaflet gives further information about the services offered by NLIS.