Check local land charges
Land or buildings may have legal restrictions or obligations attached to them. These are known as local land charges. They include:
- tree preservation orders
- being part of a conservation area
- listed building status
- conditions imposed on planning permissions
- enforcement notices
Local land charges pass on to new owners of a property when it’s sold.
Walsall Council keeps a register of land charges for land and properties in the borough.
You may need to check what local land charges are in place for a property if you are:
- buying or remortgaging the property
- using it as security for a loan
- leasing it
- renting it out
How to access information on the local land charges register
You can do this by:
- asking a solicitor to apply to the council to carry out an official search and paying a fee
- making a personal search using the Environmental Information Regulations, for free
For information about sewers and drains, you can ask Severn Trent for a drainage and water search.
Some searches will be recommended by your solicitor. Others will be required by the mortgage lender to protect them from any liabilities that the property may have.
Make a personal search request
You can request access to the land charges register by emailing us. You’ll need to include:
- the address of the property/unit or land
- a location plan marking the location of the search request (you can buy a location plan from the Planning Portal)
We only accept requests submitted by email.
If you’re making a request for a company, you are restricted to five individual address/unit searches per week.
We will consider requests as being received the next working day. We will provide a copy of the land charges register in relation to the address being searched within 30 working days.
We do not take responsibility for your interpretation of the information we provide.
An official local authority search includes:
- LLC1: Checks the Local Land Charges Register for important property details.
- CON29: Covers key enquiries recommended by the Law Society.
- financial charges
- planning agreements
- enforcement notices
Both provide important information that could affect a buyer's decision.
LLC1
This includes a record of all charges registered against a property within the borough of Walsall, such as:
These, and other entries place a restriction on the property. As an owner, you're responsible for them. As a buyer, they could affect how you use or change the property and might have financial consequences.
CON29
This consists of two forms: CON29 and CON29(O).
- CON29 (standard set of enquiries) includes:
- Planning history
- Building control regulation
- Highway information (including road scheme proposals)
- Tree preservation orders
- Planning enforcement or breach of condition notices
- Planning obligations (e.g., Section 106 agreements)
- Assets of community value
- Public footpaths shown on definitive maps
- CON29O (optional enquiries):
- An additional set of enquiries that can be requested to cover a niche request that might not be relevant to all properties.
How much it costs
Fees from 1 April 2025Search type | Category | Service description | Cost |
---|---|---|---|
Full local authority search (LLC1 and CON29) | Residential | Standard | £178.26 (includes VAT) |
Expedited (returned within 3 working days) | £297.59 | ||
Commercial | Standard | £238.66 (includes VAT) | |
Expedited (returned within 4 working days) | £400.71 (includes VAT) | ||
LLC1 | Residential | One property (non-vatable) | £36.83 |
Expedited for one property (3 working days, non-vatable) | £103.13 | ||
Additional property (non-vatable) | £14.43 per property | ||
Commercial | One property or land parcel (non-vatable) | £44.20 | |
Expedited for one property/land parcel (4 working days, non-vatable) | £162.05 | ||
Additional property/land parcel (non-vatable) | £22.10 per property | ||
CON29 | Residential | One property (includes VAT) | £141.43 |
Expedited for one property (3 working days, includes VAT) | £194.46 | ||
Additional property (includes VAT) | £26.52 per property | ||
Commercial | One property or land parcel (includes VAT) | £194.46 | |
Expedited for one property/land parcel (4 working days, includes VAT) | £238.66 | ||
Additional property/land parcel (includes VAT) | £35.36 per property | ||
CON29 O (optional enquiry) | Residential/Commercial | Per question (includes VAT) | £17.68 per question |
You can cancel a search within three working days, but only 50% of the total fee will be refunded.
Cancellations are not accepted after three working days. The day we receive the search request will be considered the first working day.
Further information
Who to contact about Environmental Information Regulation queries- Highways
- Planning applications
- Planning enforcement
- Planning policy
- Listed buildings and conservation areas
- Building control
- Environmental protection:
- land contamination
- landfill
- smoke control orders
- Assets of community value
- Housing safety and standards
- Flood management
- Railway schemes
- Radon gas
If you require copy documents for any of the following, please contact: