New initiative in fight against property fraud

The Land Registry is hoping that absent property owners will take advantage of a new scheme to guard against property fraud which would see the owner registering a restriction so that the property would only be sold after a solicitor certified the homeowner’s true identity.

From this month the Registry’s Form LL restriction will be no charge for absent property owners although owner-occupiers will still have to pay the £50 fee. It means that a solicitor or conveyancer has to determine that the person selling the property is the true owner. It is free for absent property owners because these properties, where the owner may be in a care home, are identified as being most at risk of fraud.

The Land Registry compensates genuine owners who have been the victims of a fraudulent transfer and said that in 2010, 23 out of a total of 71 claims for fraud and forgery involved properties where there was an absent owner.

Malcolm Dawson, the chief registrar, said that the Registry worked closely with other organisations, including the Law Society, to do all it can to prevent fraud or take decisive action when it does occur. He added that since September 2009 there had been over 100 cases in which the Registry had acted to prevent fraud.