Conveyancers are being urged to work closely with their search provider to avoid any unnecessary delays in processing purchase transactions.

With lead times to access data at many local authorities increasing by the day, the importance of ordering searches in a very timely fashion cannot be overstated, according to The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO).

Some estate agents are naturally unhappy about the increased time it is currently taking for sales in some regions to get to completion, partly because of the slow conveyancing system, which has come under growing pressures due to the record high number of property deals being agreed across the country, fuelled in part by the current stamp duty holiday.

CoPSO chair James Sherwood-Rogers said: “The combination of a hyperactive property market, in part fuelled by the SDLT holiday, and the hugely difficult circumstances in which local authorities and our members are having to operate, is leading to ever increasing turnaround times for searches in many parts of the country.

“Our members know where those are, and active engagement with them can help to manage each transaction according to its location. We fully recognise the extreme pressure which conveyancers are operating under, and our members wish to help in any way that they can.”

CoPSO says that it is in regular contact with local authorities across England and Wales where there are now more than 90 locations, which is approximately 30% of all authorities, where search turnaround times exceed 20 days.

The combination of an overheated market, Covid-19 related working restrictions and resourcing issues are the main contributing factors.

Where resourcing is an issue, CoPSO has appealed to local authority chief executives to allocate additional resource to the local land charges teams to help alleviate the pressure.

Sherwood-Rogers added: “We are all in this together in these extraordinary times and CoPSO and its members are determined to play a full part in supporting homebuyers and their conveyancers by offering the best possible service in the circumstances.”