Property fraud on the increase

The war reporter and Daily Mail columnist Max Hastings' tale of identity and property fraud has received a lot of press coverage. Mr Hastings widely reported a story involving a £1.3 million property in Fulham, London owned by his wife. The essence of the story is that a fraudster (with seeming ease) set themselves up as the agent for someone with Mrs Hastings name, and attempted to sell the property to an unsuspecting purchaser who handed over £1.35 million to the fraudster. Unsurprisingly the money was lost and the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

Following the introduction of the Land Registration Act 2002 in October 2003, the register of title to land in England and Wales became public. HM Land Registry (HMLR) is a government agency responsible for registering people's title to land in England and Wales. Once a title is registered a digital record is maintained which shows the address of the property, the legal owner and any charges (for example obligations or mortgages) which affect the property. The objective of HMLR over time is to secure registration of all of the land in England and Wales.

Given the public nature of the register it is obvious that the possibility of fraud has vastly increased.

A further cause for concern is that many private individuals have purchased additional properties in their names on a buy to let basis as investments.

HMLR has issued guidance on properties which are at particular risk of fraud and these include properties which people own but rent out and those which do not have a mortgage over them or properties owned by people who live abroad.

There are steps that you can take to try to minimise the risk of your property being fraudulently sold. However it is important to ensure that you receive comprehensive advice in this regard.

To discuss this or any property related issue contact us.