Is Your Property Protected Against Fraud?
Author: Caroline Walton
As previously reported, the Land Registry have introduced a service called “Property Alert” which is a free monitoring service for anyone who might be concerned that their property could be targeted by fraudsters who might sell or mortgage it without the knowledge of the true owner. Fraudsters are particularly targeting properties which have no mortgage or charge registered against them, particularly those which are empty or let out.
As a property owner, provided the title to your property is registered at the Land Registry, you can minimise the risk of property fraud by:
- Signing up to the Land Registry’s Property Alert service
- keeping your contact details up to date so that the Land Registry can contact you following receipt of an application regarding your property
- applying for a restriction to help prevent forgery.
For further information, please visit www.gov.uk/propertyfraud
If you would like a copy of the Land Registry’s leaflet “Property Your Property From Fraud” please contact a member of the Property team. If the title to your property is not registered, or you are unsure whether it is or not, a member of our Property team will be able to advise you whether the title is registered and, if it is not, on the steps you need to take in order to register the title to your property at the Land Registry, together with the likely cost.
