Search options set to return for Hackney council

There’s some welcome news for conveyancers and property professionals operating in London, as Hackney Council prepares to resume its Personal Searches service.

The council has advised that it is planning to reopen the service from 16 November 2026, following a lengthy period of disruption after the cyberattack it experienced in October 2020.

What has this meant for property searches?

Since the cyberattack, access to information from the Local Land Charges register and CON29 has been affected.

While Hackney Council was subsequently able to retrieve some information, the absence of an available public register has meant that regulated searches could not be carried out.

For OneSearch customers, this has meant we’ve been unable to provide our regulated OneSearch Prime and OneSearch Duo search products for properties within that London Borough.

What’s changing?

Hackney Council has now advised that it plans to resume its Personal Searches service from 16 November. OneSearch are due to receive further information ahead of the reopening, with service details expected to be published by the council when the service resumes.

What happens next?

We’ll be monitoring the reopening closely and will provide a further update confirming the availability of OneSearch products in Hackney.

In the meantime, if you’re dealing with a property transaction in the borough and need advice on the options currently available, get in touch with the OneSearch team.