Preventing fraud

Land and buildings are usually the most valuable assets people own. They can be sold and mortgaged to raise money and can therefore be attractive targets for fraudsters.

Land Registry, professional conveyancers and mortgage lenders all have safeguards to minimise the risk of a fraud being successful.

However it is important that property owners do what they can to help prevent fraud and to protect their ownership in the same way that they protect other things they own.

Land Registry has produced a public guide (number 17) aimed at providing guidance on action you can take to protect yourself against property fraud.

One thing that property owners can do is to keep their contact details with us up to date, so that we can notify them about requested changes to their register. Property owners can have up to three contact addresses (addresses for service), which can include an email address or an address abroad.

This is particularly important where the owner does not live at the property. If anyone rents out their property or is going to leave it empty, then it is essential that they give Land Registry an address where we can send correspondence relating to their property.

More information is available in a public guide (number 2) about keeping contact details up to date.

Note:

• Updating your contact details is free and easy to do
• You do not need a solicitor
• You can have up to 3 addresses for service on the register

You can write to us, telling us who you are and what address(es) you think should be on the register. We will either confirm that your details are correct or, if not, treat your letter as an application to update your contact details and then write to you to confirm this. We regret that we cannot confirm your contact details over the telephone for security reasons.

Please write to the Land Registry office that deals with applications in your area. Use our Office Finder tool to find their address.

You can also confirm your contact details by applying for official copies of the register or by visiting the Find a property service. However, fees are payable for these services.

Land Registry provides the following information that explains what to do in more detail.

• Public Guide 1 - A guide to the information we keep and how you can obtain it
• Public Guide 2 - Keeping your address for service up to date
• Public Guide 17 - How to safeguard against property fraud