The Council has a statutory duty under the Local Land Charges Act 1975 to maintain an accurate and up-to-date Register
of Local Land Charges affecting land and property in the City. Details of any charges that are registered to land and property
are listed in the City Council’s Local Land Charges Register.
A Local Land Charge is a restriction or prohibition imposed
on land or a financial charge, which is binding on successive owners or occupiers of land or occupiers of property or land.
These include charges for such services as roads, restrictions such as Tree Preservation Orders and conditions imposed on
Planning Permissions, Conservation Areas, Legal Agreements and Listed Buildings.
Local Land charges search
As
a rule a Local Land Charges Search is required on the sale or purchase of a property, on re-mortgage or when there are any
dealings with land. A fee is charged for providing a Local Search. The Local Search consists of two standard forms, the LLC1
and the CON29.
The LLC1 form, the official requisition of search of the Local Land
Charges Register, discloses the registered entries affecting the property. These may be conditional planning consents, conservation
areas, tree preservation orders, Council grants that may need to be repaid, agreements or identification of the property as
a building of special architectural or historical interest.
The CON29 form, enquiries of local authorities,
provides a number of set questions on matters such as highway adoption and road schemes, local plan policies, environmental
health notices, building control applications, planning notices and orders. The CON29 has a number of questions that are always
asked and then a number of additional questions for which an additional fee is charged.
In some cases it is also possible
to ask an additional enquiry of your own, such as information concerning recent planning applications on adjoining properties
or whether particular roads or footpaths in the vicinity of your property are publicly maintained. Again an additional fee
is charged for this request.
Submitting Searches
Searches must be submitted on the LLC1 and the CON29 forms
agreed by the Law Society and the Local Government Association. The Council does not provide copies of the forms and are available
from legal stationers.
In order to enable requisitions to be processed efficiently, please ensure seven copies of a current
Ordnance Survey extract accompany each application, with the property/land edged red on the plan.
Parcels of Land
An OS parcel is a field or similar unit identified and referenced by Ordnance Survey. However, for search
purposes a parcel is a piece of land occupied or owned separately from the land around it. It can contain several OS parcels.
A search can, however, include more than one parcel if the parcels are adjacent, or separated only by a road, river or railway.
Separate search requisitions are needed for all such separate search parcels. The Council will accept as a single parcel
a domestic dwelling and garage where the garage is located in a nearby garage block on the same development. The same principle
applies to parking spaces.
Completed Searches and Enquiries should be sent to the:-
Local Land Charges Section
Cambridge City Council
The Guildhall
CAMBRIDGE
CB2 3QJ
01223 457417 or 01223 457403
Email: legal@cambridge.gov.uk
On completion of the LLC1 and the CON29 forms the Local Land Charges Section returns the completed forms and questions to your Solicitor.
Response Times
The volume of searches received is outside the Council’s control and
influenced by a number of external factors, including interest rates, the buoyancy of the local housing market and the local
economy. Most searches are completed within 5-7 working days.