The cost of finding a home is set to rise after a fall in demand for property.

Brighton and Hove Council has decided to increase the charge for a land search, which checks whether properties could be affected by future development, from £90 to £110.

The number of land searches has fallen from 13,000 last year to an estimated 10,000 this year, resulting in a £260,000 shortfall of income.

Councillors are blaming a slow in the housing market for the deficit.

Council leader Lynette Gwyn-Jones said: "The fees have not risen since 1998. If they were not to rise, there would be a big shortfall in income.

"The high cost of buying a home in Brighton and Hove is slowing down the market."

The average price of a property is now £115,000 - an increase of 50 per cent since 1997.

Coun Gwyn-Jones said: "Our aim is to offer customers an e-mail service and eventually offer a three-day turnaround for standard searches."

Only one-third of councils charge more than Brighton and Hove for land searches.

Tory opposition leader Geoffrey Theobald said: "This is yet another example of a Labour stealth tax."

But a survey by the Nationwide Building Society states that house prices, and the demand for land searches, are likely to rise again.