What will a Land Registry search not tell me?

It will not tell you who you are dealing with. The register shows who is recorded as the owner of the property, and that is not proof that the person messaging you is that person. Three things narrow that gap and none of them is a document you can buy: viewing the inside in person, seeing the paperwork with the same name on it, and paying only into an account in the name on the agreement. Each makes an impostor's job harder. None of them proves anything on its own, which is why they are worth doing together.

What else does the register not settle?

Not every property is registered, because registration became compulsory on sale progressively over the last century, so a home that has stayed in the same hands for decades may not appear at all, and an absent title is not on its own proof of a scam. The register also reflects what has been registered, not what happened this morning, so a recent purchase can still show the previous owner. And a company can be the registered owner. That is ordinary, not suspicious: you can look the company up for free on Companies House and see the registered office and the directors. On what a landlord may ask you to send, and when, see whether it is safe to send a copy of your passport.

GOV.UK is explicit that you can download online copies of the information but cannot use them as proof of ownership, and that proof needs an official copy. And HM Land Registry records the legal estate, not the beneficial interest, so the name on the register is not a complete account of who has an interest in the property.

What if the person letting it is not the owner?

That can be perfectly legitimate. A letting agent, a managing agent, a family member or a co-owner may properly be the person you deal with, and the name on the register will not be theirs. One question is worth asking: on whose authority is this being let, and can that be put in writing? An answer in writing is something to hold them to. It is not proof that the authority exists. The patterns worth noticing are in our guide to spotting a rental scam in England.

Common questions

Does a Land Registry search prove who I am dealing with?

No. It shows who is recorded as the owner, which is not the same as who is messaging you. GOV.UK says the online copies cannot be used as proof of ownership at all: proof needs an official copy, which comes by post. And because the register records the legal estate and not the beneficial interest, even the recorded owner is not the whole picture.

What if a company owns the property?

Holding a rental property through a limited company is ordinary, not suspicious. If the register names a company, you can look it up for free on Companies House and see the registered office and the directors, then check whether the person you are dealing with is one of them or can explain their connection.

Sources

The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts.

• Land Registration Act 2002, section 66 (inspection of the registers), legislation.gov.uk
• Search for land and property information, GOV.UK
• Owning land and property with someone else (HM Land Registry only records the legal estate and does not record the beneficial interest), GOV.UK
• Land Registration Act 2002, section 78 (notice of trust not to affect registrar), legislation.gov.uk