How to Find Out Who Owns a Property UK 2026 Guide

Updated November 2023

If you’re wondering how to find out who owns a house in the UK, the best answer is the HM Land Registry. The Land Registry is a government agency that keeps records of all registered property in England and Wales. You can search the Land Registry online for a small fee.

Even if the property is unregistered, there are still ways to find out who owns a particular property or piece of land.

To give you the answers you’re looking for, our team of property experts has put together some information to point you in the right direction.

Query the Land Registry

The best place to begin when looking for the owner of a property is the UK Land Registry. You can generally do these searches online at a small cost.

What is the UK Land Registry?

The UK Land Registry is a non-ministerial department of the UK government that registers the ownership of land and property in England and Wales. It contains over 26 million title records, equating to more than 88% of the land mass in England and Wales. Different registers cover Scotland and Northern Ireland.

How do I query the Land Registry?

Head to GOV.UK and conduct a title deeds search. HM Land Registry holds records on most property or land sold in England or Wales since 1993. These records include details of the title register, title plan, title summary and flood risk indicator.

You can run a land registry search, view them online and download the documents— giving you access to specific information that can help you find details about the property owner.

The title register contains details about the property or land in a downloadable format. It includes the title number, who owns the property, what they paid for it, any rights of way and whether a mortgage has been “discharged”.

The title summary includes the title number, who owns it, what they paid for it, whether the property is freehold or leasehold and information about the lender’s name and address — assuming there has been a mortgage on the property.

The title plan is a map showing the property’s location and its general boundaries — there’s usually no record of exact boundaries.

You can also access a flood risk indicator – should you need one. This gives you information on how likely the land or property is to flood, and it combines data from the Environment Agency and HM Land Registry.

This process is not entirely free, but it will cost you just a few pounds to access the information you need. You’ll need to create an account with a valid email address and payment method to get started. There are some small fees to pay, depending on the information you need. Fees range from £3 for a title summary to £10.80 for a flood risk indicator.

Once you have an account, you can search for a property by postcode and house number or name.

Here are the steps on how to search the HM Land Registry online:

Go to the HM Land Registry website.
Click on the “Search the register” button.
Enter the property’s address or postcode.
Click on the “Search” button.
Select the property from the list of results.
View the title register.

The title register will show you the following information:

The names of the current owners
The type of ownership (e.g. freehold or leasehold)
Any charges on the property (e.g. mortgages)
Any restrictions on the property (e.g. covenants)

If you don’t know the postcode, you can search by street address. You’ll still need to create an account and make a payment by debit or credit card.

Access Local Records

One of the more common problems people incur when tracing ownership is that the land or property is unregistered. More than 88% of land and property in England and Wales is registered, but if the property you’re interested in is unfortunately unregistered, all is not lost.

Your first port of call should be to ask around the local area. It’s surprising what property information can be uncovered from talking to people who have lived in the area for a long time.

If the locals cannot help, check local authority records, and find out if any planning applications have been made by contacting the County Record Offices. Applicants are legally required to sign either a Certificate A to say they are the owner or a Certificate B to state that they have served notice on the owner.

The electoral register may also provide further details on previous owners.

If it’s a piece of unregistered land you’re interested in, it’s worth checking adjoining registered properties as this could provide clues about the owner.

These local sources of information may be able to provide further details about the unregistered property.

Other ways to find out who owns a home

You can also instruct a tracing agent to find the information for you. These professional investigators will be able to access specific data on online systems that the general public doesn’t have access to — allowing them to retrieve the details about the property owner.

It usually costs around £35 to hire a tracing agent.

How to find out who owns a property for free?

In the UK, the best way to obtain information about property ownership entails visiting the Land Registry. Thankfully, you can usually get a free property summary from the HM Land Registry website. To gain a deeper comprehension, information such as the Title Register and Title Plan are available for a minimal fee of £3 each. The initial property summary, which contains basic ownership information, is usually available for free, though there may be fees associated with some papers. This method ensures an economical and effective way to identify property owners in the UK by allowing people to obtain basic information for free and providing the opportunity to look more deeply into property records for a small fee. (Price information November 2023)

Why is a house not on the land registry?

The UK land registry dates back to 1993 and since then has registered the buying, selling and mortgaging of property in England and Wales. If a house is not on the land registry, it is most likely because there have been no transactions on that property to be recorded, since registration came into effect.

Why would you want to find out who owns a property?

If you’re considering purchasing a property, previous ownership information could impact your decision to make an offer or how much you are willing to pay.

For example, if a property has changed hands multiple times in a short period, this may cause you to wonder “why are people moving in and out so quickly?”, or “is the property worth the asking price?” Historical sale prices can also inform how much an individual or developer is willing to pay for the property.

You might also want to conduct this research to find out if any development projects in the area could influence your decision to buy.

Of course, you could just be curious about who previously lived in a property you now own or wish to buy.

If you’re looking to buy a new home and are interested in selling your house quickly to a genuine cash buyer, get in touch with our team, or enter your postcode for a free cash offer for your property.

Chris

Chris has worked in property all his career, first as a successful estate agent before spotting a gap in the market for buying property directly from people looking for a simple, quick sale.

He has a passion for property and as an experienced valuer, has looked at well over 50,000 properties so far at HBB. He has extensive experience in property buying and regularly comments in the press on property matters, trends and promotes ways to simplify and speed up the selling process.

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How to Find Out Who Owns a House or Property UK