The London Borough of Hillingdon has been dubbed the worst performing local authority for delivering property search services, according to a joint survey by search company One Search Direct and home information pack (HIP) provider Simply HIP.

The research said the council took an average of 33 working days to provide results. Gravesham Borough Council, Kent, followed closely behind, taking up to 29 days.

The results, published last week, were obtained after the companies analysed all of their instructions between March and April this year, and covered all councils in England and Wales.

The survey authors also claim to have exposed restrictive practices operated by some councils that ­create delays for private companies conducting property searches.

The report says Oswestry Borough Council, Shropshire, permits just one private search per day and that Copeland Borough Council, Cumbria, would only conduct them between 10am and 12pm on Fridays.

By contrast, South Staffordshire District Council boasted the quickest turnaround time, taking two-and-half days on average. The London Borough of Hounslow, and Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset followed, both taking less than three days.

Ashley King, managing director of Simply HIP, said: ‘Whether [these results reflect] incompetence on the part of the local authorities or anti-competitive behaviour is a moot point.’

He said the results showed many local authorities were taking no notice of a government directive issued in January to cut costs and reduce delays. He called on the ­government to act, particularly given current market conditions.

Richard Barnett, chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee, said: ‘It’s a postcode lottery at the moment, which is really frustrating both for consumers and solicitors.’

Paul Marsh, Law Society Vice President, said Chancery Lane had always been concerned by inconsistencies between local authorities and felt money should have been spent on improving searches rather than developing the controversial HIPs.

The Department for Communities and Local Government declined to comment on the findings but a spokesman said the department would continue to work with local authorities to help them fully adopt the access arrangements in the directive.

A spokesman for Hillingdon Borough Council said changes in the service had caused delays and that the current maximum time for dealing with them was 28 days. He added that officers were currently developing ways of delivering the service electronically.