Two different frauds affect property in England and Wales. In one, criminals pretend to be an owner in order to sell or mortgage a home. In the other, they pretend to be a solicitor, agent or buyer to divert the money in a purchase. This article summarises HM Land Registry and Law Society material on both. HM Land Registry registers land and property in England and Wales only, so the protections described here do not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland, which have separate registration systems.
Property fraud: pretending to be the owner
HM Land Registry describes property fraud as fraudsters trying to “steal” a property, most commonly by pretending to be the owner and selling or mortgaging it without the owner’s knowledge. Its blog of 17 November 2025 lists two forms: criminals stealing an owner’s identity and using it to make fraudulent applications to register a change of ownership or a mortgage, and bogus landlords who let out properties they do not own.
The GOV.UK guide says an owner is more at risk if their identity has been stolen, if they rent the property out, if they live overseas, if the property is empty, if it has no mortgage, or if it is not registered with HM Land Registry. The registry says property is registered if it was bought or mortgaged since 1998, and that owners must tell it when register information is wrong, for example a changed contact address.
How rare it is, and what has been stopped
HM Land Registry says property fraud is relatively rare but can be devastating. In 2024 to 2025 it received 4,429,092 applications to create or update the Land Register and identified 86 as fraudulent, just over 0.0019 per cent. It says it prevented the registration of fraudulent applications against more than £59 million worth of property in 2024 to 2025. These are the registry’s own figures for the period stated.
Free monitoring: Property Alert
Anyone can sign up to Property Alert, a free service that emails when there is certain activity on a property being monitored, such as a new mortgage. The GOV.UK page says a user can monitor up to 10 properties, including a relative’s, and does not need to own the property. Each alert states the type of activity, the applicant and when it was received. Two limits apply: not every alert means fraud, and signing up does not automatically stop anything. The owner has to decide whether the activity looks suspicious and act quickly if so. The page gives the example of a landlord living overseas who received an alert about an application to register a mortgage of over £300,000, contacted the property fraud line and helped the registry stop it.
A stronger step: a restriction on the title
An owner can ask HM Land Registry to put a restriction on the title, which stops it registering a sale or mortgage unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies that the application was made by the owner. GOV.UK says:
- business owners and private owners who do not live at the property can request the restriction with no fee;
- an owner who lives at the property pays £40;
- a conveyancer or solicitor may charge for providing a certificate where a restriction requires one.
The registry’s 2022 blog on the counter-fraud restriction (Form LL) says it could be worth considering for landlords, owners who do not live in the property or those whose property may be empty for a period. It also warns that the restriction can delay a later sale, lease or mortgage, because the owner needs a conveyancer’s certificate confirming identity. Fees can change, so the current GOV.UK page should be checked.
Conveyancing or payment diversion fraud
HM Land Registry describes payment diversion fraud, also called mandate fraud or conveyancing fraud, as criminals tricking victims into sending house deposits or purchase money to fraudsters instead of the right place. The criminals pretend to be solicitors, estate agents or buyers, and use fake email addresses or invoices. Its blog reports that between April 2024 and March 2025, 143 cases of conveyancing fraud were reported to Action Fraud, that losses totalled £11.7 million, and that the vast majority involved residential property transactions.
The Law Society’s practice note, last updated in 2020, describes fraudsters intercepting clients’ emails and duping them into sending money to the fraudsters by purporting to be the law firm acting in the purchase. It also explains that fraudsters sometimes present forged identity documents to solicitors or the registry. Because the pattern relies on fake email addresses and invoices, any change to payment details for a purchase is worth querying with the solicitor directly.
Tenants: check who owns the property
The registry’s blog advises prospective tenants to check the property title register before paying any deposit or rent, to make sure the person claiming to own the property really does.
If fraud is suspected
GOV.UK says a suspected victim of property fraud should contact HM Land Registry’s property fraud team ([email protected] or 0300 006 7030, Monday to Friday, 8am to 4.30pm), can get advice from Citizens Advice or an independent legal adviser and can report to Report Fraud. The registry’s blog adds that government-backed support is available to people who have suffered a loss as a result of title fraud, and that the Land Registration Act 2002 sets out when a mistake in the register can and cannot be put right.
Frequently asked questions
Does Property Alert block a fraudulent sale?
No. GOV.UK says it does not automatically stop changes but alerts the owner so that action can be taken.
The bottom line
Owners in England and Wales can take two free or low-cost steps: sign up to Property Alert and consider a restriction on the title if the property is empty, rented out or owned from abroad. Buyers should treat any change to payment details as suspect until confirmed with the solicitor by a trusted phone number. Both frauds are rare in proportion to the number of transactions, but the losses to victims can be very large.
Sources
- HM Land Registry via GOV.UK, “Protect your land and property from fraud”
- HM Land Registry via GOV.UK, “Property Alert”
- HM Land Registry, “How HM Land Registry works to protect property owners” (17 November 2025)
- HM Land Registry, “Protecting your property from fraud: Form LL – the ‘counter-fraud’ restriction” (4 November 2022)
- The Law Society, “Property and registration fraud” (practice note)