Boston Borough Council improves property-buying process in the area by joining national digitised register

Posted on 8 January 2024

This Monday, Boston Borough Council migrated their Local Land Charges (LLC) service to a new national digitised register held by HM Land Registry, making it quicker and easier for local residents to buy properties in the Borough. 

Coming as part of a wider digital transformation effort across the Council in a bid to improve service delivery and create cost savings for local taxpayers, the LLC Register will allow users to search information online instantly, enabling buying decisions to be made earlier in the conveyancing process.

Most local land charges are restrictions or prohibitions on the use of property or land, such as planning permissions or listed building status. A search of the national register will reveal whether a property is subject to a charge. And enable the buyer to make an informed decision about the purchase.

Boston Borough Council has worked in collaboration with HM Land Registry and received positive feedback on how well the project has been delivered, utilising experience from working with partnership authority - East Lindsey District Council, whilst also being the first example of neighbouring councils working together to deliver migrate to the new national digitised register.

Users of the national register can download a personal search free of charge or buy an official search for £15. This will allow unlimited repeat searches for six months. All information is delivered in a standard easy-to-read format, with geospatial maps.

It is a national ambition for all local authorities in England and Wales to transfer their local land charges service to the national register, when complete it will contain more than 25 million charges. Users will find it easier to search, merge and digest the information, while entrepreneurs and innovators will be able to develop new social and economic solutions that benefit the wider UK economy.

Councillor Dale Broughton, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Licensing and Land, said: "As a Council we're proud to be among the early adopters of this new register which will provide our residents with a transparent, user-friendly service which should save them both time and money going forwards."

For more information visit https://www.boston.gov.uk/article/20663/Local-Land-Charges