Stolen ID and Land Registry Warning to Landlords

Last week, a con artist was jailed for 5 years in an attempt to take millions by stealing Landlords ID's with the Land Registry.  This highlights the need for us Landlords to make sure our properties are correctly registered.

In this case, at Leeds Crown Court, the Court heard how the fraudster (a mortgage advisor) impersonated the real owners of  properties, so she could take out a mortgages against them, keep the money and leave, leaving the real owners with a charge against their properties.

Reports say that in the last 5 years the Land Registry has been forced to pay in excess of £26million in compensation because of property fraud.

Generally, the con-artists search for rented property with no loan or registration at the Land Registry against it, then forge a transer to acquire the title to the property.  In this case, one act by the con artist saw her take on the identity of an older woman who owned a bungalow in Harrogate and then, by conning the lender, she managed to obtain a £120,000 home improvement loan.

In some of the cases, even attempts were made to sell off properties without the real owners even being aware.