Alicia Jennings, Local Land Charges Officer
Dawn Crinall, Deputy Local Land Charges Officer
Anne Bowles & Victoria Grant, Local Land Charges Assistants
Direct Line: 01483 444080
Fax: 01483 444996
We can be contacted Monday - Thursday 08.30am - 05.00pm and Friday 08.30am to 04.30pm apart from public holidays.
Guildford Borough Council's Local Land Charges Section is committed to providing an accurate Local Authority Search on a property within 10 working days, with an average turnaround time of 5 working days.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the cost of a search?
This depends on what the Solicitor requires. The majority of our search requests are basic searches (LLC1 and Con29) and these cost £150.00.
Optional enquiries are £5.00 each and additional enquiries are £20.00 each. Additional parcels of land are £10.00 each. Personal Searches are £11.00 each and these can be done by contacting us and making an appointment.
How long does it take?
The Audit Commission's statutory Performance Indicator is 100% response in 10 working days, although we aim to process all searches within 5 working days.
Do you have an expedition service?
If you have a search which needs to be processed urgently, contact us on 01483 444080 and we will do all we can to produce your result quickly. There is no additional fee for this service.
What is the difference between an official search and a personal search?
The official search is certified by the Council; the Local Land Charges Act 1975 makes provision for compensation if anything goes wrong. The accompanying CON29 questionnaire can only be completed by trained Council staff who have access to the information required. The information includes approved schemes that have not yet been implemented such as highway schemes, parking restrictions, traffic calming measures, Building Control or Environmental Health notices which are outstanding.
A personal search can be made by making an appointment and calling in person at the Council offices. The search result is from the Register of Local Land Charges only and does not include CON29 information, but personal callers can inspect statutory registers such as the Planning Register and the Highways Register. The result is not certified.
Therefore only the CON29 form answered by the Council can provide certified information.
When we send in our search request do you require plans?
Yes please. Two copies of an up to date Ordnance Survey plan with the boundary of the property clearly marked.
Do you answer drainage enquiries?
No, please refer to Thames Water, tel: 0118 923 6656
If we need to do a search of the Register of Common Land and Town and Village Greens, do we send it to you?
No, please send your application along with a cheque for £6.00 to:
Surrey County Council,
County Hall,
Kingston Upon Thames
KT1 2DN
DX 31509 Kingston Upon Thames
How much are copies of documents?
A copy of a search is £5.00.
Copies of Planning Decisions are £5.00 each.
Copies of Tree Preservation Orders are £12.00 each.
Copies of all other agreements are £10.00 each.
Future planned improvements are:
We are currently looking at new computer software to improve our service and enable us to process searches via NLIS. The National Land Information Service (NLIS) is a government initiative aimed at delivering services electronically, with the ultimate aim of speeding up the conveyancing process by using electronic transactions. NLIS has been designed to provide a one-stop access to all land and property related information throughout England and Wales. At Guildford, although we are not currently able to process searches electronically, we will soon be connected to NLIS at level 2. This means we will be able to receive search applications and fees electronically, but print the results and send them by DX or first class post. So, watch this space!