How to protect yourself from Property Fraud

As property fraud is increasing, there are several ways of ensuring you, as the true legal owner of the Property, can protect yourselves from fraudsters perpetrating to be the legal owner and selling the property without your knowledge.

The Land Registration Act 2002 came into force to create an electronic database for all properties, over time, to be registered on this database.  This would save the worry of having the old deeds stored at home or with the banks after a conveyancing house purchase as, if they were to go missing, you would not have any legal proof of ownership.

Whilst this has been very beneficial in several ways, unfortunately, it has made it easier for fraudsters to sell properties, especially those that are empty or have been rented out by a Landlord.

There are some simple steps you can take to prevent property fraud

There are several ways you can reduce the risk of property fraud, here a few ways you can take that extra step to ensure you are one step ahead:-

1. Firstly, always make sure that your address for service is up to date with the Land Registry. If you own a Property which you rent out, or a Property which is empty, by informing  the Land Registry of your current address and email address, any correspondence will be sent to you direct and not direct to the Property where a fraudster could intercept this!
2.  The Land Registry offer a free property alert service and you can sign up to this using the following website: https://propertyalert.landregistry.gov.uk/
3.  Take care with your own personal identification as this must be produced to a solicitor when instructing them to act on your behalf in selling property owned by you. If your identification falls into the wrong hands, it could be very easy for the fraudster to impersonate you!

Talk to a professional

Our Residential Property and Conveyancing teams are proud to provide quality legal advice in a straightforward and easy to understand manner. For further information on property fraud protection, buying and selling, or any other property related services, please contact us or call us on 01761 414646.