Conveyancers have issued their strongest warning yet that there could be “considerable disruption” to the property market if reforms to the Land Registry go ahead.

The Government is proposing that the Local Land Charges register currently operated by local councils should be centralised in a hand-over to the Land Registry.

The Society of Licensed Conveyancers says that disruption would be inevitable during any centralisation process – and says this is just one issue that has not been adequately considered.

The consultation on the proposed Land Registry changes also suggests that only data less than 15 years old will be centralised.

Simon Law, chairman of the SLC, said: “This would mean that a vast amount of significant information would not routinely be available to lawyers.

“This includes whether a property is listed, or listed in a conservation area, or has an enforcement notice against it.

“Simply, if the Land Registry were to centralise data on this basis, lawyers would have to go to other sources to obtain the information. This could slow down the conveyancing process and add cost for consumers.”

He said that conveyancers are also finding it difficult to understand why the Land Registry is so keen to take over the Local Land Charges register, when the current operation works perfectly well.

He said: “There has already been speculation that this is just a stepping stone to selling off the Land Registry. Concerns have arisen that this is just a way to fatten up the Land Registry to maximise the proceeds to the Exchequer in the event of a sale.

“Such a move could be detrimental to home buyers, involve greatly increased costs and is not in the public interest.”