As a property agent, are you always 100% sure you’re dealing with the legal owner when marketing their property? Believe it or not, there have been cases where apparently straightforward sales are, in fact, an elaborate fraud, as illustrated by a high-profile story last year.

Title plans and registers may not always be front of mind for sales and letting agents and landlords, but they are a vital resource when marketing property. Failure to carry out some simple checks can leave agents open to legal action, and in very rare cases, can mean fraudulent activity goes unnoticed until it’s too late.

For sales agents:

Running Land Registry checks for properties in England & Wales is essential to demonstrating due diligence. A free check will tell you the tenure of the property – whether it’s held for a specific period of time under a lease (leasehold) or owned outright (freehold). This free check will also highlight any restrictive covenants or easements. The tenure of a property and existence of covenants is material information and must be disclosed to potential buyers.

Paying £3 for the title register will reveal the name(s) of the legal owner(s) and whether there are any mortgages or other legal matters that affect the property – this check is also recommended as part of the ‘know your customer’ checks for anti-money laundering. Also available for £3 is the title plan which shows the property’s location and the general boundaries – this can confirm what exactly is being sold.

Scotland’s Land Information Service (ScotLIS) provides similar information on properties in Scotland – a free check gives details of the ownership type and property type, and also shows indicative boundaries. Paying £3 for the title sheet reveals the registered owner(s), any securities or charges against the property, and also shows any burdens or responsibilities affecting the property.

In Northern Ireland the Land Registry is a record of land, houses and properties. Land & Property Services (LPS) is responsible for the registry. To check if land is registered, you can search the registry in LPS offices.

For letting agents and landlords:

Finding out information about a property can be a safeguard against fraud because:

+ The title register shows the legal owner of the property which can help letting agents confirm landlord details and assist with anti-money laundering checks where required.

+ Landlords who own their property can sign up to the HM Land Registry’s free Property Alert service which which alerts them if someone applies to change information on the register.

James Munro is head of National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team. Join the conversation at www.ntselat.uk.

Man arrested, accused of selling somebody else’s house without their knowledge