Which type of search?

You can do a full search, part search, or make a personal search

When buying, leasing or re-mortgaging a property or piece of land, your solicitor will submit a local land charges search which will show whether there are any legal restrictions affecting the land or property.

The council will investigate any restrictions and bring all the information together in the form of a local authority search. This will include charges for services such as roads, restrictions such as tree preservation orders and conditions imposed on planning permissions, legal agreements and listed buildings.

North Devon Council's search is the only official local land charge search. The search is backed up by insurance, which does not expire at any time.

Types of searches

Full and part searches

The majority of searches we receive are LLC1 and CON29 searches submitted together. You can also do these searches separately or request parts of the CON29 form. CON29 optional questions can be submitted with the other forms or by itself.

LLC1 form

This consists of a search of the Land Charges Register and reveals any outstanding charges against the property or land.

CON29 form

This includes information from a number of council services and includes planning applications and building regulations on the property or land, if the roadway is maintained at public expense, any nearby road or traffic schemes, any decision to compulsory purchase the property, whether the property falls within contaminated or radon gas areas. All of the information required to complete CON29 is available from the council. You can request all of the questions or part of them.

CON290 form

This consists of a number of other optional enquiries:

  • road proposals by private bodies
  • public paths or byways advertisements
  • completion notices
  • parks and countryside
  • pipelines
  • houses in multiple occupation
  • noise abatement
  • urban development areas
  • enterprise zones
  • inner urban improvement areas
  • food safety
  • simplified planning zones
  • land maintenance notices
  • mineral consultation areas
  • hazardous substance consents
  • environmental and pollution notices
  • food safety notices
  • hedgerow notices
  • registered common land and town or village green

The CON29 forms are subject to the copyright of the Law Society. 

Personal searches

Personal searches are searches of the Local Land Charges register and must be done in person at our offices. The same information can be obtained by submitting a LLC1 form to us for the small charge of £10 (£14 for land/property within the Exmoor National Park).