Buying a property in South Kesteven is changing to an instant online access through the Land Registry’s national service.
Local land charges searches are a normal requirement in the property-buying process.
Land charges often take the form of restrictions or prohibitions on the use of the property and are set by district councils.
The LLC1 portion of South Kesteven District Council’s land charges service – restrictions imposed by a council, such as Tree Preservation Orders or Listed Building status – are being moved to a national register in collaboration between HM Land Registry and SKDC officers.
A spokesperson for SKDC said: “As part of our digital transformation we have worked with HM Land Registry to transfer part of our local land charges service to their national digital register.
“The Local Land Charges Register allows users to search information online, enabling house-buying decisions to be made earlier in the conveyancing process.”
Information and searches can be found at www.gov.uk/search-local-land-charges
The spokesperson added: “The ability to search the national register will reveal whether a property is subject to a charge and enable the buyer to make an informed decision about the purchase.
“We are pleased to be among the early adopters of the new register.
“Anyone can access this service. Business customers can also access it through their HM Land Registry portal account or the Government Business Gateway.”
Users of the national register can download a personal search free of charge or buy an official search for £15. This allows unlimited repeat searches for six months. All information is delivered in a standard, easy-to-read format.
SKDC will still reply to standard enquiries, known as CON29 requests, which covers the planning history of a property, whether a road is publicly or privately maintained and whether there are any major road or rail proposals nearby. The fees and charges attached to these requests can be found at: www.southkesteven.gov.uk/LocalLandCharges
For more information on the HMLR migration go to www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-land-charges-migration