Who owns that property? (2024)

https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2021/01/26/who-owns-that-property/

Posted by: Suzanne Earl, Senior Product Manager, Posted on: 26 January 2021 - Categories: Buying and selling property, Digital services

“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.

Tags: digital services, property search

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26 comments

Comment by Saeed Saleem posted on 27 January 2021

Hi i need to know if I owe any fees on my land?how can I find out?thanks

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- Replies to Saeed Saleem>
  Comment by AdamH posted on 27 January 2021
  
  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
  
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  - Replies to AdamH>
    
    Comment by Saeed Saleem posted on 27 January 2021
    
    Ok thank you much
    
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Comment by AK posted on 27 January 2021

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?
See Also
Find property information: the easy way
Many thanks

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- Replies to AK>
  Comment by AdamH posted on 28 January 2021
  
  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
  
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  - Replies to AdamH>
    
    Comment by Keith Milner posted on 30 January 2021
    
    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
    
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    Replies to Keith Milner>
    
    Comment by AdamH posted on 04 February 2021
    
    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
    
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    Replies to AdamH>
    
    Comment by keith posted on 05 February 2021
    
    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?
    
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    Replies to keith>
    
    Comment by AdamH posted on 05 February 2021
    
    Keith - as soon as the application is completed the updated register is available to all online
    
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Comment by Jeffrey Shaw, Nether Edge Law posted on 28 January 2021

The 'blog' says nothing about reducing the gigantic backlog of Register Create applications (TP1, FR1, DFL).

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- Replies to Jeffrey Shaw, Nether Edge Law>
  
  Comment by AdamH posted on 28 January 2021
  
  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
  
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Comment by Jeffrey Shaw, Nether Edge Law posted on 28 January 2021

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.

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- Replies to Jeffrey Shaw, Nether Edge Law>
  
  Comment by AdamH posted on 28 January 2021
  
  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
  
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Comment by Cecilia posted on 16 February 2021

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.

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- Replies to Cecilia>
  Comment by AdamH posted on 16 February 2021
  
  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
  
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  - Replies to AdamH>
    
    Comment by Cecilia posted on 16 February 2021
    
    Thank you Adam for your prompt response and clear explanation - all I needed.
    
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Comment by Cecilia posted on 17 February 2021

Just a thought - do I receive written confirmation that the transfer has been completed? An email would do.

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- Replies to Cecilia>
  
  Comment by AdamH posted on 17 February 2021
  
  Cecilia - if you submitted the application then we’d write to confirm. Otherwise no.
  
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Comment by cecilia posted on 17 February 2021

Thanks Adam, that solves the issue.

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Comment by Rosie posted on 18 February 2021

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?

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- Replies to Rosie>
  Comment by AdamH posted on 18 February 2021
  
  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.
  
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  - Replies to AdamH>
    
    Comment by Rosie posted on 19 February 2021
    
    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.
    
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    Replies to Rosie>
    
    Comment by AdamH posted on 19 February 2021
    
    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
    
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Comment by Rosie posted on 19 February 2021

Hi Adam, that's fine. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

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Comment by m roberts posted on 02 March 2021

is finding who owns a property free???
please
( service to find out owners- advertised on your website as available March2021)

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- Replies to m roberts>
  
  Comment by AdamH posted on 04 March 2021
  
  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.
  
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FAQs

What do you call someone who owns property? ›

Definitions of property owner. noun. a holder or proprietor of land. synonyms: landholder, landowner, proprietor.

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Who owns the properties around me? ›

1. Check Your Local Assessor's Office. On your local tax assessor's official website, you may be able to look up property tax records and find the property owner by their address. You can learn who owns the home as well as how much property tax they pay.

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What is the meaning of property owner? ›

a person that owns a house or land.

What is a house owner called? ›

A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a lessee or renter). When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner.

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: a person who owns something : one who has the legal or rightful title to something : one to whom property belongs. business/property owners. He and his sister are owners of the restaurant. We were able to return the wallet to its rightful owner.

What amendment is the right to private property? ›

The Fifth Amendment protects the right to private property in two ways. First, it states that a person may not be deprived of property by the government without “due process of law,” or fair procedures.

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Ownership of property also gives you the ability to use it as you like, and to sell or give it to someone else. The right to transfer property is a key right of property ownership. Property ownership is a foundational right, one that defines a person's independence and wealth.

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What is it called when you use someone else's property rights without permission? ›

Copyright infringement occurs when someone uses a copyrighted work without permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display, or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works.

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