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Facts
about Residential Property Searches
Property Searches are required
as part of compiling a Home Information Pack, an agent (usually a
solicitor or conveyancer) is responsible for obtaining local land and property searches
(Con29 & LLC1
)which contain
important information about the property being sold.
Land and property searches
are usually carried out by Local Authorities or by private search
companies. Local Authority searches contain the most up to date and comprehensive information and unlike private search
companies, Local Authorities do not rely solely on indemnity insurance
any problems with the search data arise. There are many different searches
available, covering a range of land and property issues connected with a
property sale.
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Searches cover many areas
and the information provided can contain data from a range of sources,
for example:
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Local Authorities
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Land Registry
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Water Companies - drainage and water
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The Environment Agency - flooding
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The Coal Authority - mining
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The British Geological Survey - ground stability
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Searches can also contain information about the local infrastructure and planning
issues in the area including:
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Highways agency - road building and maintenance
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Electricity - national grid
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Gas - pipelines
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Telecommunications - cabling
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Ordnance Survey - maps and plans
Searches
are conducted to ascertain if any of the above may affect your land or
property. There are standard forms to conduct a Search
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What is
a Con29?
CON29 is a form
( Enquiries of Local Authorities) used to ask supplementary questions for a land charges search - an important area for local authorities.
The questionnaire covers issues such as:
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Compulsory Purchase Orders
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Proposed Tree Preservation Orders
(TPO's)
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Informal notices under planning and highways laws not found on any register
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Road proposals or schemes (including road widening)
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Proposed enforcement action or breach of conditions notices
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What is
an LLC1?
LLC1 (Requisition for Search & Official Certificate of Search)
states all registerable charges for the property, for example, financial charges registered against the property by the local authority eg improvement grants, tree preservation orders, conditional planning consents.
How long
is a Search valid for?
As far as solicitors are concerned, 3
months, after this time it will be necessary to re-apply.
The average time taken for Local Authority Searches is 5.4 days. (source
NLIS)
As
mentioned previously, property conveyancing solicitors are a trusted
source to deal with property searches. There are many solicitors listed
in our directory which can provide help and advice when dealing with
property searches.
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