Property information held by local authorities in England and Wales should be made more readily available to people buying and selling property and their agents, said the Office of Fair Trading in a study published this week.

It warned that some people may be paying too much for local authority information and waiting too long for it to arrive.

Over 1.5 million property transactions are conducted in the UK (1.4 million transactions in England and Wales) each year. Property buyers need information relating to a property and its environment that may affect its value or their desire to live in it – for example, planning permissions, road schemes and building regulations.

Such information is generally bought as a property search and obtained by conveyancers on behalf of property buyers and sellers.

From 2007, property sellers in England and Wales will have to provide property searches as part of the new home information pack (HIP). The delay in producing a HIP has been one of the major arguments opponents of the scheme have levied.

The OFT investigation followed complaints made last year about the availability of information provided by local authorities. It found that:

• The price of property searches provided by local authorities varies greatly, with a range of £55 to £269, and it is likely that some consumers are paying too much.
• Local authorities provide property information under a complex framework of legislation.
• Some local authorities restrict access by property buyers and their agents, including property search companies (PSCs), to the property information that they hold.

The OFT has recommended that local authorities make their property information available to third parties on non-discriminatory terms that do not advantage their own property search activities over competing property search providers. This should create greater consumer choice and more effective competition within the market for property information.

The OFT also recommends that local authorities ensure they make their information available quickly. One of the most common criticisms of the current system is that some councils can take several weeks to reply to written requests from house buyers or their lawyers, thus delaying the house buying process.