Local land charges

The local land charges team provides information for people buying, selling or leasing homes, other property or land within Southwark. The service is now part of the Planning division.

This team also investigate any legal restrictions, which form a Local Authority search.

Submit your local land charges search

Search fees applicable from 1 April 2024

With effect from 31 March 2017, under instruction from HMRC, we'll collect VAT in relation to CON29 and CON29O enquiries of the local authority and CON29 additional parcel charges. We apply VAT at the standard 20% rate. 

These are our search fees:

  • Standard search (LLC1 and CON29R) £299.64 (inclusive of vat)
  • LLC1 only: £13.20 (no vat)
  • CON29R only: £239.04 (inclusive of vat)
  • Optional printed enquiries CON290; each enquiry (4-22) £17.28 (inclusive of vat)
  • Additional enquiries by solicitor: £43.20
  • Each additional parcel of land: £43.20
  • Copy documents (free and online) via Planning Register for part 3 registration documents.

All fees must be prepaid. You can make your payment online using the Local Land Charges Public Access register.

Alternatively, you can make your payment by cheque. Make the cheque payable to ‘London Borough of Southwark’.

We aim to complete Local Authority searches within 10 days from receipt.

Postal address: Local land charges, 5h floor Hub 2 Zone C, London Borough of Southwark, PO Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX

Search contents

A local authority search will give you information about the property that you're buying, including:

  • planning history for the property itself
  • conservation areas
  • listed building status
  • improvement grants
  • financial charges imposed by the council
  • planning agreements
  • tree preservation orders
  • publicly maintained highways

You can raise additional enquiries by asking about development proposals within 200 metres of the property. Email these enquiries directly to our management.

Personal searches

Personal searches can be carried out using the Local Land Charges Public Access register.

The personal search will inform you of all registerable entries that appear on the local land charges register including:  

  • conservation areas
  • financial charges
  • listed buildings
  • tree preservation orders

The register of local land charges will be emailed to applicants. If you need to get planning, building control and publicly maintained highways information, visit the council offices at 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH during normal office hours to view records accessed via a computer screen.

Planning applications received since 2002 can be viewed on our planning application pages.

Access to information, cancelling a search and commons registration

To comply with government guidance issued in January 2008, the council is committed to providing access to information held by the authority and all unrefined data that is required to complete CON29R enquiries.

The schedule is subject to change when appropriate. It will be updated whenever changes occur, including costings.

Highway searches

The highways information collating service is no longer available. For highways information relating to CON 29R searches, you can use Southwark Maps. Or you can order a highways search request by emailing highways@southwark.gov.uk. The team will give you a list of charges for this service. 

Cancelling a search

We'll receive your search application by document exchange or post. If you need to cancel your search, contact us by 12pm on the day of receipt of your application for a full refund to be issued.

After 12pm, the application will have been processed and no refund can be offered.

Commons registration searches

Applications for search in the register of common land and towns and village greens are now responded to through an optional enquiry 22 contained under the form CON290.

Light obstruction notice fees

  • the charge for registering a Light Obstruction Notice is £85
  • the charge for filing a Lands Tribunal Light Obstruction Certificate is £20
  • the charge for filing a variation or cancellation of a Light Obstruction Notice is £20
  • the charge for a copy of a Light Obstruction Notice is £40

Highways and road information

The road list (PDF, 1.2mb) is to be used as part of a highways search. The council also has the road information online via Southwark maps. This interactive map shows both private and roads maintained by both Southwark Council and Transport for London (TFL).

The Dulwich Estate Scheme of Management

View original documents from the land charges register below:

Page last updated: 27 March 2024

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