LAND REGISTRY INCREASES SAFEGUARDS AGAINST FRAUD
The Land Registry recently introduced new rules which they hope will further reduce the incidence of fraudulent land transactions. The new rules mean that in most cases the Land Registry will only register transactions if all parties to the transaction have had their identities checked by a solicitor or conveyancer or the Land Registry.
There has been a massive increase in fraudulent land transactions in recent years. In 2007/2008 the Land Registry paid out just under £4 million in compensation in respect of fraudulent registrations, up from just over £2 million in the preceding year. According to their Annual Report the value of pending claims for fraud and forgery at the end of 2007/2008 was £7.5 million.
It has been suggested that the increase in fraud could be attributed in part to the abolition some years ago of Land and Charge Certificates which means that an owner of registered land no longer requires any documentary proof of their title. Subsequently the Land Registry launched an on-line service from which details of any registered titles can be downloaded. Initially copies of documents filed at the Land Registry were also available but this part of the service was withdrawn in November 2007 because of concerns that it was facilitating fraud.
Everyone, particularly the elderly or frail, should be wary of signing any papers about their property without taking professional advice. Unless they exercise caution they may find that, without knowing it, they have signed a binding contract to sell their property or even transferred ownership to someone else.
Property owners should also ensure that their address is kept up to date on the register. Properties which are not occupied by the owners are more at risk from fraud as the owners’ address is often not up to date and consequently they do not receive notices or correspondence sent to them. Up to three addresses can be registered for each property and this can be particularly useful to owners who live abroad or joint owners who have different addresses. A joint owner who has left the property after a relationship breakdown should remember to notify the Land Registry of their change of address.
It is not only registered properties which are at risk of fraud. Owners of unregistered properties still have to prove title by means of their deeds and they run the added risk that their title deeds might be lost, stolen or destroyed. Properties do usually have to be registered now on a change of ownership or mortgage but the Land Registry also encourages voluntary applications for registration, and reduced fees are payable for such applications. A registered title is state guaranteed.
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