“Who owns that property?” – something we’ve all said in the past, but did you know how easy it is to find out using HM Land Registry’s land and property services?
We’ve built two services where you can find this out: Find a property and Search for land and property information.
Property ownership details will be added to Search for land and property information, for purchase, in March 2021 and it can currently be used to:
- view a subset of register data at no cost
- view the latest price paid for a property
- view the property description as shown in the register
- identify if any restrictions or rights exist on the land
Whether it’s prices or ownership, the national conversation is never too far away from property, and HM Land Registry holds a lot of the data that underpins it all. From people and organisations wanting to know who owns a piece of land to real estate companies generating their house price indices and journalists finding out how much a house costs, our data is viewed by thousands every day for a multitude of reasons. It helps to support the economy and is the backbone of property-related industries.
Millions of searches
Since its launch in March 2003 Find a property has returned millions of searches from people looking to find out who owns land and property or how much it was bought for. It’s been used by citizens, surveyors, journalists and property developers to name a few. Find a property will be retired later this year and Search for land and property information will become our flagship citizen-facing service.
Search for land and property information was launched in February 2020 and has already seen more than 750,000 searches made. This newer service is easy to use and will eventually give you information you need whether you’re researching house prices in advance of a move, looking for legal or ownership reasons or simply to satisfy your personal curiosity. You can find information such as property deeds, and the house price data uses the same Price Paid Data set, produced by HM Land Registry, that is used by Zoopla and other property websites.
As we get closer to Find a property’s retirement date, further features such as customer accounts, map searching, digital register and title plan view will be added to ensure a smooth transition between the two.
We designed Search for land and property information to make as much of our data as possible accessible for everyone in England and Wales and to help achieve our aim of becoming the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data. We’ve worked closely with our early adopters to make an easy-to-use and clear service that we hope will benefit users as we add more features.
Why not give Search for land and property information a try yourself? Please remember current Find a property users will have to create a new account for Search for land and property information.
26 comments
Comment by Saeed Saleem posted on
Hi i need to know if I owe any fees on my land?how can I find out?thanks
Comment by AdamH posted on
Saeed- if you mean any charges then you can check online if the land is registered
https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry
Have a read of the full guidance and look at the example register before searching/buying anything
Comment by Saeed Saleem posted on
Ok thank you much
Comment by AK posted on
Hi,
I bought a leasehold property in Jan 2020 and the purchase involved also purchasing the freehold at the point of completion.
My solicitor was instructed to apply for both leasehold and freehold titles to be merged which was done on completion.
I am wondering if there is anyway to check the progress of this merger and if there is any time scale I can expect to wait for land registry to be updated?
Many thanks
Comment by AdamH posted on
AK - your solicitor can check/confirm progress but it may still be waiting to be processed. Or you can use our contact form to submit the specific details and someone can check and reply
https://help.landregistry.gov.uk/app/contactus_general
Comment by Keith Milner posted on
Quick question, expedition to remove sale restriction has been granted, how long will this take, and if restriction is removed, can the sale go through immediately or does it have to be registered first? trying to beat March 31 STAMP DUTY DEADLINE.
REF:Enquiry reference: 210129-004345 Application reference: D310QRR Title number: HP259596
Comment by AdamH posted on
Keith - the application has been processed but wider checks re the removal are now underway. These may not complete until 17th/18th Feb unless we get earlier replies.
The timing of the sale/purchase is for the seller/buyer to agree but assume the latter is waiting for the entry removal
Comment by keith posted on
Thanks AdamH.
If the restriction is removed on let's say the 18th Feb. Would this immediately show up on the Register so that the sale can go ahead?
Comment by AdamH posted on
Keith - as soon as the application is completed the updated register is available to all online
Comment by Jeffrey Shaw, Nether Edge Law posted on
The 'blog' says nothing about reducing the gigantic backlog of Register Create applications (TP1, FR1, DFL).
Comment by AdamH posted on
Jeffrey - the blog wouldn’t as it’s focussed on the new service.
We continue to try and reduce the backlog of register creates but there are no quick fixes. We are recruiting mor people; promoting existing people after development/training on complex application types and trialling the scanning of documents lodged with FRs to enable more to be processed quickly to mention a few. But it will take time
Comment by Jeffrey Shaw, Nether Edge Law posted on
Yes, true. Why not switch staff, albeit temporarily, from Register Update? RU work is often handled very quickly, so adding 2-3 days to each matter would not really have any impact on it- but reducing RC work backlogs from 12-13 months to (say) no more than 2 months would free-up a lot of properties from limbo.
Comment by AdamH posted on
Jeffrey - we have done precisely that and wait times for RUs have extended to 5/6 weeks in some cases as a result. Whilst we look to make inroads into the RC backlog it is a deep one, applications can’t be as easily processed from home and we still find that one out of every two cannot be completed as they are not in order.
I make that last point not to deflect but it is a very real factor that we have to contend with and part of the reason why we have had a backlog of this depth for some time.
We are speaking with a variety of customers to identify where their own priorities lie and further changes may be made on the back of that insight. But as I know you already appreciate that feedback will vary as conveyancers will have a variety of wants/needs based on their own business models/choices.
We will continue to try and improve our services/internal processes to tackle the backlog but it will take longer than hoped. The focus in recent months has been on keeping the essential services going so that the conveyancing process itself does not suffer. And alongside that our expedite process helps those urgent applications to be done ASAP. But we do know that’s not enough but let’s hope for a better year all round
Comment by Cecilia posted on
Good morning: A property was recently transferred to me by my brother-in-law and whilst he has had an official letter of confirmation, I haven’t received any paperwork. I understand that title deeds are now held digitally but I wonder if I should have had any other official documentation as proof of ownership.
Comment by AdamH posted on
Cecilia - the very simple answer is No. the register is held by us so if you or anyone needs to prove/confirm ownership then you’d do so as and when needed. If you want to check and confirm then you can but it’s information only and not anything to hold on to as proof
Comment by Cecilia posted on
Thank you Adam for your prompt response and clear explanation - all I needed.
Comment by Cecilia posted on
Just a thought - do I receive written confirmation that the transfer has been completed? An email would do.
Comment by AdamH posted on
Cecilia - if you submitted the application then we’d write to confirm. Otherwise no.
Comment by cecilia posted on
Thanks Adam, that solves the issue.
Comment by Rosie posted on
My late Mum bought a flat with her late husband. He removed her name from the title deed before they died but not from the lease. Can his family sell the flat without recourse to her executors?
Comment by AdamH posted on
Rosie - you really need legal advice as to what rights the family/executors may have
From a purely registration perspective the lease in essence creates the title but the transfer from the two of them to just one can come next.
The registered title by the sound of it doesn’t form part of her estate but whether she had a beneficial interest which the family have a claim on is not something we deal with or can cover for you.
Comment by Rosie posted on
Hi Adam, thanks for your reply. My Mum was persuaded by her husband to transfer the title from joint to his sole name a few years before he died "for tax purposes" We were unaware of this until his death. His daughters eventually agreed to allow her to remain in the flat rent free until she died 15 months later. It's only recently that we became aware that her name is still on the lease & wondered whether this has any significance.
Comment by AdamH posted on
Rosie - I suspect not as the registered title covered the lease as granted but the legal ownership has then changed later. It’s the registered title you would now go by.
If she retained what’s known as a beneficial interest then that might be covered in her will or any agreement they made at the time of the transfer. But it’s really legal advice you need here if you are trying to prove that or identify if she had such an interest
Comment by Rosie posted on
Hi Adam, that's fine. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
Comment by m roberts posted on
is finding who owns a property free???
please
( service to find out owners- advertised on your website as available March2021)
Comment by AdamH posted on
M roberts - that part will still attract a fee. Try the new service and the results will tell you which parts are free and which will be charged for. Trying it and searching costs nothing.