Over 50000 sign up for Land Registrys free property fraud alert service

6th January 2017

The service helps people detect fraudulent activity on their property by sending them email alerts when certain activity is being monitored, such as a mortgage being taken out against it. The recipient can then decide whether they think the activity is suspicious and act quickly if so. The alert email tells them who to contact should they be concerned.

Property fraud is where fraudsters try to steal property, most commonly by stealing the homeowner's identity and selling or mortgaging the property without their knowledge. They then disappear with the money leaving the true owner to deal with the consequences.

Since 2009, Land Registry has stopped fraud on properties worth more than £92 million.

You can monitor up to 10 registered properties in England and Wales. You will receive email alerts when there is certain activity on the properties you are monitoring, such as an application to change the ownership details.

Although Property Alert won't automatically stop fraud from happening, it's a useful early warning of suspicious activity which the home-owner can investigate if they are suspicious.

Find out more about Property Alert and how to sign up for the free service.

A landlord was renting out a property in England while he lived overseas. He was aware that absent landlords are more at risk of property fraud and signed up to the free Property Alert service. When he received an alert email informing him of a mortgage application being made against his property worth over £300,000, he contacted the property fraud line immediately as he wasn't expecting this. Using this intelligence, the activity was investigated, and the fraud was discovered. The application was then prevented from being registered.

You're more at risk if your property:

- Is rented out

- Is empty

- Is mortgage-free

- Isn't registered with Land Registry

To help protect yourself against property fraud, make sure:

- Your property is registered. If you become an innocent victim of fraud and suffer financial loss as a consequence, you may be compensated. Properties most likely to be unregistered are those that haven't changed hands or been mortgaged since 1990.

- Land Registry has up-to-date contact details so they can reach you easily. You can have up to three addresses in the register, including an email address and/or an address abroad.