Nearly 500 property transactions could have been delayed by a backlog of local authority searches after Bracknell Forest rolled out a new council IT system. The council confirmed 695 outstanding requests as of 15 April - 480 personal searches and 215 official local authority searches.
The delays have disrupted house sales, with some taking more than six weeks and firms warning of stalled or collapsed transactions.
Responding at a meeting, planning cabinet member Councillor Guy Gillbe acknowledged the "uncertainty, stress" and risk to buyers and sellers and apologised. He said the system "went live at the point required" but had not delivered the expected "readiness, resilience and reliability".
The problem stems from data accuracy feeding into the land charges register after a legacy contract ended. Work to reconfigure the data is largely complete, but further testing and fixes are needed before searches can restart. The council estimates it will take around 12 weeks to clear the backlog once the service resumes, processing applications in submission order. Officers are working with software provider Arcus Global and a full implementation review will follow.
NatWest said: "We understand the local authority are working at speed to fix this, but in the meantime we advise anyone concerned to speak to their lender to understand how this issue may affect them, and what can be done to overcome it." Peter Dewsbury, chief executive officer of Arcus Global, said: "We are aware of the disruption to the land charges service at Bracknell Forest Council. Arcus staff are working constructively with the council's team to restore a comprehensive service as soon as possible."
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
