Local Authority Searches Explained 2026: CON29, LLC1 and What Sellers Hide

Local authority searches are the most expensive line item in conveyancing that buyers never actually read. Most conveyancers send the search results in a PDF attachment with a one-line covering email. The information inside affects the value of the property, the use you can put it to, and the risk you are taking on. Knowing what is in there, and what is conspicuously not, is one of the biggest hidden levers buyers have.

The two parts

• LLC1 (Local Land Charges Register): every restriction or charge registered against the property. Static list of legal encumbrances.
• CON29 (Standard Enquiries): standardised set of questions the council answers, covering planning, building, highways, conservation, contaminated land, etc.

Both are ordered together by your conveyancer through the council's online system. The combined search is what people mean when they refer to “the local authority search”.

What CON29 reveals (the big sections)

• Planning permissions: every planning application affecting the property since 1948. Approvals, refusals, conditions.
• Building Regulations: every Building Regs application and whether the work was signed off.
• Roads and highways: is the road adopted by the council (maintained at public expense) or unadopted (private; you may be liable for repair).
• Road schemes: any council proposal to build, widen or improve a road within 200 metres.
• Conservation areas: whether the property sits in one (more planning restrictions).
• Listed buildings: whether the property is listed and at what grade.
• Article 4 directions: where permitted development rights have been removed (limits what you can do without planning).
• Contaminated land notices: any registered contaminated land notice on or near the property.
• Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs): trees on the property protected from felling without consent.
• Compulsory purchase orders: anyone's plan to take the property.
• Enforcement notices: any council action requiring works or removal of unauthorised work.

What CON29 does not reveal

• Issues beyond the property boundary: planning applications, road schemes, etc. on neighbouring sites are NOT covered.
• Building regulation work done without an application (common pre-2000).
• Pre-1948 planning consents and conditions.
• Private agreements between previous owners (deeds of variation, easements not on title).
• Disputes between neighbours.
• Sub-stations, masts and pylons in the immediate area.
• Mineral extraction or fracking applications.

CON29 (Optional) and CON29O

There is an extended set of questions (CON29O) that buyers can request for extra cost (£40 to £150). Worth asking for if:

• You are buying near a railway, motorway or canal (covers neighbouring infrastructure).
• You are buying in a flood risk area (extended flooding questions).
• You suspect mineral rights or subsidence issues in the wider area.
• You are buying agricultural land or have agricultural neighbours (entitlements, drainage rates).

Personal searches

A personal search is a private company replicating the official search by sending researchers to the council offices. They are typically 30 to 50% cheaper and faster than the official search.

Not every lender accepts a personal search. Check before instructing one. Major banks tend to insist on the official council search; some building societies are more relaxed.

Search turnaround times in 2026

Wildly variable by council. Some return in 5 to 10 working days; others take 6 to 8 weeks. The 2026 worst performers (per Local Government Association data):

• Some London boroughs (up to 8 weeks).
• A few large unitary authorities undergoing IT migration.
• Councils with seasonal staff shortages.

If your conveyancer says “we are waiting for searches”, ask which council, when the request went in, and whether a personal search is acceptable to your lender.

Searches that are NOT the local authority search

Buyers often confuse the local authority search with other searches that are ordered separately:

• Drainage and water search: from the water company. Shows public sewer connections and locations.
• Environmental search: from a specialist data provider. Covers contaminated land, flood risk, radon, ground stability.
• Chancel repair search: indemnity insurance more usually, against historic church liability.
• Mining search: in coal, tin, brine extraction areas.
• Common land search: in rural areas.

What sellers can technically hide

Since the DMCC Act tightened the rules in 2025, sellers and agents must disclose material information up front, but searches still leave gaps a careful seller can stay quiet about. Two common patterns:

• Building work done without Building Regs sign-off. Seller answers “no” to the question “has work been done that required Building Regs approval?” on the TA6. The CON29 only shows applications that were made; missing applications stay missing.
• Neighbour planning applications. Outside the boundary, outside the standard CON29. Seller is not asked. A scheme to build flats on the empty plot next door does not show up unless you ask separately.

What to check yourself

1. Search the council's planning portal for applications within 300m of the property in the last 5 years.
2. Check the Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning.
3. Search the National Library of Scotland historic maps to see what the site used to be.
4. Search the council's waste site register if the property is on or near former industrial land.
5. Walk the boundary at different times of day.