Shapps helps home buyers by scrapping charges for council land searches

Home buyers can access more information about their new home without having to pay for the information they receivce from councils, the Government announced today.

The fixed fee charged for personal searches of councils' local land charges register is to be abolished. Such land searches tell a home buyer about restrictions or issues that affect the property, such as planning conditions, conservation areas and protected trees.

The new Government has already suspended Home Information Packs and today's move will further help reduce costs for home buyers.

The law is now being changed to stop people being charged a £22 fee for a personal search of the Local Land Charges Register. This move is intended to make key environmental information more accessible to the public.

Making sure that this information can be accessed free of charge fits with the Government's wider drive for 'open data' to make public sector information more transparent and accessible to the public online.

Local councils are in the forefront of this agenda to increase accountability and open up the books.

Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, said: "Moving home is difficult and stressful, and the new Government wants to make it easier. We've already taken steps to scrap Home Information Packs, and now we are cutting the cost of researching the detail about your new home.

"This shows in practice how freeing up public sector data and opening up the books can benefit the whole economy, by cutting transaction costs and increasing competition."