How to find out who owns a property in England and Wales

1. Search the address on the GOV.UK "Search for property information" service. The free summary confirms the property is registered and gives the tenure and description.
2. Buy the title register (£7 to download) — the proprietorship register names the registered owner and gives the price paid where it was recorded.
3. If nothing is found, the land may be unregistered. Roughly speaking, registration became compulsory on sale progressively through the 20th century, so land that has stayed in the same hands for decades may never have been registered.
4. For unregistered land, HM Land Registry cannot help you directly — ownership is proved by the deeds, and tracing them usually means the Land Charges Department, local archives or a solicitor.
5. For a company owner, the name on the register can then be looked up free at Companies House.

Be realistic about why you want it. Wanting to approach an owner about buying is a legitimate reason and the £7 is the honest route. Wanting to identify an individual for any other purpose runs into data-protection territory quickly.

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Last reviewed: 2026-09-20. We check these against the linked official sources and re-date the page when they change.