How can I find out who owns a property?

What "finding the owner" means

In England and Wales, most homes and land are listed on a public register kept by HM Land Registry. Each property has its own record, called a title. The title shows who owns it. You do not need to own the property, or have any link to it, to look it up.

What you can get and what it costs

A downloaded title register is fine if you just want to know who the owner is. It cannot be used as legal proof. If you need proof for a court case or a legal matter, order an official copy.

The title plan shows "general boundaries". There is usually no record of the exact boundary line.

How to look up the owner

1. Go to the HM Land Registry "Search for land and property information" service on GOV.UK.
2. Sign in or create an account.
3. Search for the property.
4. Check the free property summary to make sure you have the right property.
5. Pay £7 by debit or credit card to download the title register.

You can also apply by post using the "application for official copies of documents" form. Send it to HM Land Registry, Citizen Centre, PO Box 7806, Bilston, WV1 9QR. Postal results usually arrive in less than a week.

If the property does not come up

A property may not show up because the address is spelt differently or the boundaries have changed. It may also not be registered at all. In that case you can ask HM Land Registry to search its index map. You cannot search the map yourself.

• Fill in the index map search form (SIM) and post it to the Citizen Centre address above.
• Send a plan that clearly marks the land, or give an Ordnance Survey map reference.
• It costs £8 to search an area covering up to 5 registered titles. Bigger areas cost £6 for each extra group of 10 titles.
• Results usually arrive in less than a week.

The search will tell you if the land is unregistered.

Older owners

If you want to know who owned a property in the past, you can apply for a historical copy of the register using form HC1. This costs £11 for each date you ask for. HM Land Registry holds records about most property or land sold in England or Wales since 1993. If you need older records, contact HM Land Registry with the title number or address and the dates you want.

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland

This service covers England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland keep separate registers.

In Northern Ireland, Land & Property Services runs the land register. You cannot search online at the moment. You need to email, phone or book an appointment, giving the postal address. Looking at a folio, map or document costs £5. An uncertified copy costs £7 and a certified copy costs £17. If the land is not registered, you search the Registry of Deeds instead.

Related guides

• How do I get my title deeds from the Land Registry?
• How do I resolve a boundary dispute with my neighbour?
• How do I sort out a dispute with my neighbour?

Where this comes from

• Search for land and property information (GOV.UK)
• Search the register (HM Land Registry, GOV.UK)
• Search the index map (HM Land Registry, GOV.UK)
• Searching the Land Registry in Northern Ireland (nidirect)