The Berkshire town where home buyers say they're 'living out of boxes'
Bracknell Forest Council's land charges service is currently unavailable, meaning home sales have been put on hold
Homebuyers in Bracknell have said they are “living out of boxes” amid delays with the council's computer system.
Bracknell Forest Council is migrating data to a new computer system, meaning its land charges service is unavailable.
In practice, this means mortgage applications and property sales are on hold.
Bracknell resident Julie Cooper, 59, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It’s very frustrating.
"We’re living out of boxes at the moment and we don’t know how long it’s going to take."
Ms Cooper sold her old home quickly, but has been waiting to move into her new home since the beginning of February.
She said: "We were told to expect a delay of between 60-75 days.
"Bracknell Forest Council haven't said a word - no word from them at all."
Another resident told LDRS: "Some buyers are even being pushed towards an insurance instead of proper searches just to get things moving.”
Jo Male, the council’s assistant director for planning, said the issue came about following a system change at the end of January.
Male said: “Unfortunately, what was meant to be a simple switch over became problematic as the data could not be transferred as easily and accurately as anticipated."
The assistant planning director acknowledged that “purchasing a property is stressful” and said the council is meeting twice a day with its supplier to try to solve the issue.
Male said: “Progress has been made but we are seeking urgent clarification from the company as to when we can start using the system accurately and start processing applications again.
“We are doing everything we can to get the situation resolved and will update buyers and solicitors as soon as we can resume our land charges service.”