Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Local authority definition

What does Local authority mean? In legal practice, a local authority is the elected council that provides local government for a defined area, exercising statutory functions including planning, housing, social care, education, highways, environmental health, licensing, and the collection of council tax or rates. The expression appears widely in legislation and case law; its precise scope is set by the relevant statute. England: county councils and district councils (including metropolitan boroughs), unitary authorities, London Boroughs and the Common Council of the City of London; parish and town councils are local authorities at the most local tier. Wales: unitary county and county borough councils. Scotland: the...

Planning due diligence in property transactions: local authority searches (LLC1, CON29, CON29O) - scope, timing, interpreting replies, additional enquiries and liability (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Planning expert

Practice notes

Do I need a local authority search?

For nearly all transfers of property—whether commercial or residential—and for the acquisition of any new interest, a local authority search will be required. This search supplies vital, authoritative information about the land in which the interest is being obtained, enabling the purchaser to make an informed decision about whether to proceed with acquiring that interest in the land. This Practice Note focuses specifically on planning-related issues disclosed by local authority searches and by related search enquiries. For more guidance on property searches, see the Practice Notes: Pre-contract searches and Chancel repair liability.

Identifying the correct authority

Ensure that the application for a local authority search is submitted to the correct local authority, as local government boundaries are sometimes changed or re-drawn. Gov.uk provides a postcode search tool to ascertain which local authority is responsible for a particular area. Note that the infrastructure Act 2015 (InA 2015) provides for the transfer of responsibility for Local Land Charges (LLCs), which form part of a local authority search, from individual local authorities in England and Wales to a centralised national digital register maintained by HM Land Registry. The migration is being carried out in phases...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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