Local Land Charges

• Where to find us
• Official Local Land Charge searches
• About Local Land Charges
• Who to contact

Current turn round time for written searches
Our current turn round time for Local Land Charge written searches is 2 days.

If you have an urgent search requiring a faster response than above, please contact us on the numbers below.

Where to find us
Our office is located in Room 84 on the ground floor of Wandsworth Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, SW18 2PU. The entrance to the reception is in Fairfield Street.

• Get a local map from Streetmap

Visitors can call at the reception, where they will be dealt with on a first come first served basis, between 9am and 12 noon from Monday to Friday, except on Public Holidays.

Official Local Land Charge searches
We carry out all official searches covered by the Local Land Charges Act 1975, guaranteeing complete and comprehensive replies by the Council to the Official Certificate of Search (LLC1) and CON 29 enquiries.

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 be undertaken only with the approval of the client when time does not permit official searches.  Members of the public are advised to confirm with their solicitors that an official search has been undertaken and to inspect the Official Certificate of Search (LLC1) and CON 29 enquiries to ensure that they have both been carried out to their satisfaction.

Personal searches
A personal search is a search of the Local Land Charges Register only and does not reveal the full information provided by an official search. Once that has been carried out for a statutory fee of £11 the personal search is over. A personal search can be undertaken only at the Local Land Charges Section.

However, other statutory registers held by the Council are open for public inspection.

Personal search agents carrying out such searches on behalf of third parties are expected to possess sufficient knowledge of the search process to enable them to carry out their personal searches without guidance from our staff.

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 to be found only by submitting a CON 29 are given below:-

• Compulsory Purchase Orders
• Proposed Tree Preservation Orders
• Notices under the Planning, Highways and Public Health Acts not found on any register
• Road proposals or schemes (including road widening)
• Proposed enforcement action or breach of condition notices

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 Certificate of Search (LLC1) and CON 29 enquiries forms.

An official local authority search provides you with the complete and comprehensive information as per the CON 29 enquiries form, carried out by the Council in accordance with the Local Land Charges Act 1975 and Local Land Charges Rules 1977.

What if you are struggling to meet tight deadlines, but want a professional and accurate service that can be obtained only by submitting an Official Certificate of Search?
We have always encouraged enquirers to contact us first if they have urgent searches and we fully understand that there are times when tight deadlines need to be met. If you should find yourself in this situation please contact Ian Renshaw, Local Land Charges Manager or Christine Fairhurst, Deputy Local Land Charges Manager at the numbers given below. We will try to meet your deadline and to provide you with a complete and comprehensive official certificate of search within the 2 to 4 day timescale offered by most Personal Search Agencies.

About Local Land Charges
We provide solicitors, conveyancers and their clients with information specific to the land or property which they are interested in acquiring. This information is obtained by them submitting local search forms to us together with the relevant fee.

A local search consists of two parts:

• Restrictions on the property which are binding on successive owners: eg. Financial Charges, Tree Preservation Orders and Enforcement Notices.
• Replies to enquiries on a nationally agreed form giving information of a more general nature: eg. highway proposals, planning history and other planning related matters and outstanding notices.

Much of this information is supplied to the Local Land Charges Service by other council departments, the Government and outside bodies.

Who to contact
The Local Land Charges team are:

Ian Renshaw - Local Land Charges Manager
Christine Fairhurst - Deputy Local Land Charges Manager

Les Lillie
Sarah Batten-Hill
Marjorie Kent 

Advice or information is available on the helpline numbers 020 8871 7662 or 020 8871 6034 between 9am and 5pm. You can also fax us on 020 8871 7664 or email us at locallandcharges@wandsworth.gov.uk.