Local authority search delays have stretched to 92 working days in the worst-hit area, adding fresh friction to a sales market where landlords already face tight margins and slower deal flow.
Research highlighted Bracknell Forest as the slowest council, with average turnaround times of 92 working days after a sharp deterioration linked to IT failures. Camden, Merton and Rochdale were all reported at 52 working days, while several other councils were sitting at 42 to 47 days.
Landlord purchases and exits face another conveyancing drag
For landlords, long search waits matter at both ends of the market. Buyers can miss refinancing windows, bridging deadlines or auction plans if a purchase stalls. Sellers can lose momentum just as higher tax, compliance costs and weaker sentiment are already testing appetite.
The issue is especially awkward for investors trying to recycle capital quickly. A deal that looks workable on paper can become much less attractive once legal costs, finance costs and holding periods all start to drift.
Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said legal-stage delays are becoming a major reason why agreed sales fail to reach exchange.
This follows Residential Landlord’s recent report on rising conveyancing costs and its earlier coverage showing the landlord buying window remains tight even when transaction volumes improve. The latest search data adds another reason why some investors are choosing to sit on their hands.
Why slower searches matter more in a higher-cost market
Search delays are not new, but they matter more when every extra week costs money. Investors using short-term finance are obvious casualties, yet ordinary buy-to-let buyers are also exposed if rate offers expire or contractors and tenants have to be rescheduled.
- Bridging and refurbishment projects can become harder to timetable
- Mortgage offers may need extending if legal work drags
- Chains can weaken if one council area becomes the bottleneck
HM Land Registry has already been testing how digitised local land charges data could speed up the process, but only around a third of councils have completed the transition so far. Until that changes, landlords will keep paying for administrative lag that sits outside their control.
The latest search-delay figures were published by PropertyWire in a report based on House Buyer Bureau analysis.
Opinion
Plenty of housing policy debate focuses on supply, tax and reform, but basic transaction plumbing still gets overlooked. A landlord cannot buy, sell or refinance efficiently if key council searches take four months. If ministers are serious about market function, this is low-hanging fruit.
