How do I protect my house from being sold?
Key Takeaways
- Your property is at risk of being fraudulently sold, especially if it's empty, rented, mortgage free or unregistered.
- While registering the tile and setting up a property alert land registry give you extra security, this does not protect you from fraud.
- The best option is to register a Form LL Restriction on your property, as this will ensure that no changes can be made to the legal title without your identity being verified.
- Your solicitor will verify your ID in accordance with the restriction and give you a certificate.
|
How do I protect my house from being sold?Get a Form LL Restriction registered on your property.
|
Can my house be sold without my knowledge?
Once you become a homeowner and your name is written on the title, it may feel like your property is safe. Unfortunately, this does not protect you from property fraud. In fact, you are even more susceptible to it if:
- it is empty
- it is rented
- it is not registered
- it does not have any mortgage charges secured against it
In 2021, a man from Luton fell victim to such an incident, when he discovered that his property had been sold without him knowing and all furnishings had been removed.
Mr Hall said: "We then tried to access the Land Registry documentation online to find out whose name appeared... and it is, in fact, as of 4 August, this man's name.
"At that point the police said, 'Well, there's nothing further we can do here. This is a civil matter; you need to leave the house and contact your solicitors.'"
He then tried to contact police online, but received the same response.
How do I stop my property from being sold?
There are certain precautions you can take to protect your property from being sold without your knowledge.
- 1
The first step in how to protect property title is registering it with the Land Registry.
If unregistered, you can apply for a first registration. This will give you proof of ownership and make it easier to manage the property. However, this is not enough to protect your house from being sold without your knowledge.
- 2
Additionally, you can set up a property alert land registry.
This will let you know, free of charge, if any changes are made to the register in relation to your property. However, this does not stop them from taking effect, it will simply alert you of that matter.
- 3
When wondering 'how do I protect my house from being sold?' the best solution is to register an anti-fraud restriction on your property title.
This ensures that should anyone try to fraudulently sell your house, no change will be registered unless a solicitor certifies that person is you. You can recognise restrictions on your property title by the phrase "no disposition of the registered estate" in section B of the deed.
How do you find out if there are restrictions on a property?
"No disposition of the registered estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is to be registered without a certificate signed by a conveyancer that that conveyancer is satisfied that the person who executed the document submitted for registration as disponor is the same person as the proprietor".
How do I put a restriction on a property?
In order to register an anti-fraud restriction on your property title, you will need to submit a Form LL Restriction with the Land Registry. A solicitor can help you with the application, and if needed, they can also help remove that restriction.
Frequently Asked Questions
CANCEL
STOLEN-DEED
MEANING
