Legal action to prevent the centralisation of Land Registry data is being considered by local councils, as speculation mounts that the organisation itself is to be sold off and privatised.

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO), which would seek joint legal action with the local authorities, says that if the plans go ahead, property sales will collapse, delays would be inevitable and the quality of information would deteriorate.

It says opposition to the plans was made clear at a meeting organised by the Department for Local Communities and Government, and the Land Registry.

According to CoPSO, the discussion revealed absolutely no support for the proposals to centralise the local land charges register (LLCR). While local authorities currently search records going back to 1926, under the new proposed system, records would be digitised back to only 1999.

Furthermore, digitising local authority records is likely to be a costly affair: the Government is set to spend £26m on the exercise, although CoPSO believes it could be done for £10m.

James Sherwood-Rogers, pictured, chairman at CoPSO, said: “No local authority actively supports the proposals, which some actually view as dangerous.”

The Government has now received all responses to its consultation, which ran from January to March, and is formulating the official response, publication of which is expected shortly – possibly next week.

CoPSO has previously raised concerns about these proposals, saying they will endanger the operation of the property market.

Staff at local authorities will still need to input the local data, adding an additional layer to the process, for which they will not be remunerated, leading to staff cuts.

Furthermore, the plan to digitise the LLCR back by only 15 years means that any encumbrances to land registered before that will not be immediately apparent.

This, says CoPSO, will put listed buildings and protected trees at risk if the information is not immediately available.

Sherwood-Rogers said: “Although we suspect that the centralisation of the local land charges register is part of a premeditated process of fattening up the Land Registry before selling off and privatising it, the government must now listen to these local authorities who are at the coal-face of the process.

“If they all see problems now, then surely it’s the coup de grâce for these flawed plans.”

According to the Guardian, leaked minutes from a meeting of the Land Registry’s board show that the 150-year-old organisation could be sold off.

The paper says the minutes show that the Government could raise £1.225bn from entering a deal with a joint venture company, and that the registry’s board has appointed their head of legal services as company secretary for a new venture, but have not yet announced it.

John Manthorpe, the former chief land registrar, said: “Appointing a company secretary gives the game away that the consultation may be a sham.

“It is clear that the management board, which has negligible experience and understanding of land registration and its important role, are solely fixed on the privatisation of this important State asset without any regard to the practical, financial or legal consequences for the citizen and business.”