1 Overview
A local land charge search is usually requested when buying or leasing land or property to find out if there are any outstanding issues or restrictions that may affect it.
Search requests should be sent to the relevant district or borough council who will contact us to answer the CON29 questions about highways, common land and village greens. Additional enquiries will incur an extra charge.
You can make a personal search of the local land charges register.
You can find out whether a road is adopted and view its status on our online map. The information should be regarded as guidance only; it is subject to regular updates and recent changes may not yet be reflected on the map. This is particularly important when there are legal consequences arising from information shown.
If you would like further details, or have any information that you feel the county council should consider, email land.charges@westsussex.gov.uk.
2 Apply for a search
Personal search companies can use our CON29 service to get answers to the highway questions (including the optional ones, if requested). Our responses are configured to the format of the CON29 itself.
To apply for a search:
- email: land.charges@westsussex.gov.uk
- phone: 01243 642105
By dealing with us direct, we aim to respond to your request within 48 hours.
Alternatively, personal search companies can request data through the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). Be advised that there may be a charge for this information to be provided, in which case we will write to you seeking payment before we proceed.
3 Cost
The cost is £28.00 plus VAT (20%) per search.
You will be asked to make payment once we have received your request.
We also charge a fee for highway boundary and Section 106 status enquiries, to mitigate against the administrative work involved in responding to these follow-up questions.
4 What happens next?
After submitting your request, you will be contacted for payment of the non-refundable fee.
We aim to respond to your request within 48 hours.