Home security usually means locks, alarms and cameras, but one of the most damaging attacks on a home involves no forced entry at all: a fraudster pretends to be the owner and sells or mortgages the property on paper. HM Land Registry, which registers property in England and Wales, publishes free advice on this risk and runs a free alert service. This article summarises two GOV.UK pages, “Protect your land and property from fraud” and “Property Alert” (updated 10 October 2025), and it covers England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different property registers. It is general information, not legal advice.
What property fraud is
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. It says that from April 2023 to March 2024 it stopped 97 registered title fraud attempts on properties valued at a total of £58 million. That is the regulator’s own figure for attempts it stopped, not a count of all attempts.
Who is more at risk
The GOV.UK guide lists the situations in which a property is more at risk of fraud:
- the owner’s identity has been stolen;
- the property is rented out;
- the owner lives overseas;
- the property is empty;
- the property is not mortgaged; or
- the property is not registered with HM Land Registry.
It says a property will be registered if it was bought or mortgaged since 1998, and that the register can be checked if the owner is unsure. Owners must also tell HM Land Registry if register information is incorrect, for example after a change of contact address. The site’s guides to empty second homes and landlord security cover the physical side of two of these situations.
Option one: Property Alert
The service is free. GOV.UK says an owner can sign up to receive alerts if someone applies to change the register of their property, for example by trying to use it for a mortgage, and can monitor up to 10 properties. It also says a person can monitor the property of a relative and does not have to own a property to set up an alert. To sign up, a person creates an account, activates it through a verification email and adds properties using the address or title number.
The alerts are sent by email. Each tells the recipient the type of activity, such as an application to change the register or notice that an application may be due, who the applicant is and the date and time it was received. The page says an alert is sent each time there is significant activity, such as a new mortgage taken out against the property, and that not every alert means fraud. Anyone without an email address can telephone the Property Alert team.
The guide is explicit about the limit: signing up will not automatically block changes to the register or stop fraud. The owner has to decide whether the activity looks suspicious and act quickly, and the alert email says whom to contact. HM Land Registry gives an example of a landlord living overseas who received an alert about an application to register a mortgage of more than £300,000 that he did not expect. He contacted the property fraud line, and HM Land Registry investigated and prevented the application from being registered. Because his contact details were out of date, it advised him to update them.
Option two: a restriction on the title
A restriction is a stronger step. GOV.UK says an owner who thinks they are at risk can put a restriction on the title that stops HM Land Registry registering a sale or mortgage unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies that the application was made by the owner. The conveyancer or solicitor may charge for providing that certificate when one is required.
- Company owners: fill in a request for a restriction and send it to the address on the form; GOV.UK says there is no fee.
- Private owners who do not live at the property: fill in a request for a restriction for owners not living at the property; no fee.
- Owners who live at the property: fill in an application for a restriction, which GOV.UK says costs £40.
Completed forms go to the HM Land Registry Citizen Centre, and HM Land Registry says it will tell the owner when the restriction is added.
If fraud is suspected
GOV.UK tells suspected victims to contact the HM Land Registry property fraud team, and to consider advice from Citizens Advice or an independent legal adviser. The property fraud team can be reached by email or by telephone on weekdays, excluding bank holidays, in office hours.
A short household checklist
- Check whether the property is registered, which the guide says it will be if it was bought or mortgaged since 1998.
- Keep the register’s contact address and email current.
- Sign up to Property Alert if the property is rented out, empty or owned from overseas.
- Consider a restriction if there is a specific reason to think the property is at risk.
Common questions
Does Property Alert cost anything?
No. GOV.UK describes it as a free service, and a restriction is also free for company owners and private owners who do not live at the property.
Will an alert stop a fraudulent sale?
No. GOV.UK says an alert will not automatically block changes to the register; the owner has to act on it.
The bottom line
Property fraud is a form of home security risk that locks cannot address. HM Land Registry advises owners in England and Wales to make sure their property is registered, keep contact details current, use the free Property Alert service and consider a restriction on the title where the risk is higher. Alerts inform an owner but do not block changes, so acting quickly on a suspicious one is the key step.