Land Registry has unveiled a new service called Property Alert aimed at anyone who thinks their property could be at risk of fraud.
Land Registry’s Counter-Fraud Unit works closely with the police and other agencies to reduce the risk of property fraud. Between September 2009 and January 2014 Land Registry stopped fraud on properties worth more than £62 million.
Alasdair Lewis, director of legal services, said: “Following a successful trial of Property Alert, we hope that many homeowners will want to sign up for this new free service to help them protect what is probably their most valuable asset.”
People can sign up and register up to three properties to be monitored. Email alerts will be sent when Land Registry receives an application to change the register as well as for official searches. They can then judge whether or not the activity is suspicious and if they should seek further advice.
For example, if you receive an alert that a bank has lodged a search on your property but you haven’t applied for a mortgage, you may want to seek legal advice, contact Action Fraud, or contact the bank in question to tell them you are the owner and have not applied for a mortgage. Investigations into the authenticity of the mortgage application can then begin much earlier in the process.
