Personal Searches
The Council has a statutory duty to make the Local Land Charges Register available in order to facilitate a Personal Search. Please note that following publication of Statutory Instrument 2010 No. 1812 The Local Land Charges (Amendment) Rules 2010 the £22.00 charge for personal inspection of the Local Land Charges Register has been withdrawn. The District Council will not make any charge from Friday 6th August 2010, but appointments should still be made in accordance with existing procedures. You will be shown the Register entry (if any) for the property being searched you will need to write down any details and return the paperwork to the reception desk.
Although the statutory fee is cheaper than a local authority search, the final price is generally about the same after the personal search company have added their costs.
The term ‘Personal Search’ means exactly that and refers solely to a search of the Local Land Charges Register. A personal searcher, or indeed any member of the public may inspect the Local Land Charges Register upon paying the prescribed fee. Once the Local Land Charges register has been inspected, the personal search has been concluded.
The Land Charges Section now provides access to the unrefined CON29R data. Some of this data is chargeable for non-statutory and statutory information and other statutory available free of charge. Full details of the applicable fees are available using the link on the right.
The Law Society recommends that, except in instances where time does not permit an official search to be made, an official local land search should always be carried out as a matter of good practice. Some mortgage companies do not accept personal searches.
HIPS Regulations
Under the current Home Information Pack Regulations, if access to the CON29R search data is available to purchase, then insurance can no longer be relied upon, even prior to the removal of the transitional arrangements on 6th April 2009.
Booking Your Personal Search
The personal search companies claim a number of advantages compared with a full search in terms of speed, cost and their ability to provide information on adjoining properties which they observe from the public registers.
Huntingdonshire District Council has an appointment system for the booking of personal searches. Personal search companies are allowed to make appointments from Monday to Friday and numbers are limited. Please telephone to make an appointment with the Land Charges Section, who will require the following information
• Full address of the property or land against which the personal search is to be made;
• The name of the person or Company carrying out the personal search;
• A copy of a current Ordnance Survey map outlining the property to be searched against.
This information should be emailed as soon as possible prior to the appointment.
Cancellation Costs
The full fee for the unrefined data request is non-refundable, as work will have commenced.
• The Local Land Charges Section requires 24 hours notice of a cancellation or alteration to a search appointment;
• If a plan is not supplied by the time stated then the appointment for the personal search will be cancelled and the personal search company will need to re-book the search on the next available day.
Statutory Instrument 2008 Number 3248 of The Local Authorities (England)(Charges for Property Searches) Regulations 2008 require Local Authorities to publish a statement detailing access charges by the end of each financial year(31 March). Details can be viewed using the link on the right.