UKH

Hi,

Does anyone know how I can go about finding the contact details for the owner of a piece of land?

I don't have an address for the land as it is just a field surrounded by plenty of other fields but I can identify the boundaries on an OS map.

I tried the Land Registry site but the form I used wanted an address. I guess I was using the wrong form (Couldn't find the option to use OS maps).

Thanks

In reply to Alan M:

Land Registry has a mapping function, should be able to identify through that. Website isn’t the most intuitive.

In reply to The New NickB:

Thanks Nick, that is what I thought but I just can't find the map option. You are right about it not being intuitive but I guess that can be labelled at all government information sources.....frustrating!!!

In reply to Alan M:

I'm sure third party websites would have access to the data and might be more user friendly. Alternatively you could pay a solicitor to do a search for you. Would cost a couple hundred quid though. 

In reply to Alan M: 

It will also depend when it was last sold - the land may not be registered in the first place

In reply to Alan M:

Land Registry should work if you can put in a nearby address and a suitably large search radius.  It costs £3 (IIRC) to download the basic info once you've identified the location.

In reply to Alan M:

It's hard to beat a bit of legwork to ask the locals.

In reply to Alan M:

timjones is correct. I've managed nature reserves and access to land for cross country projects and I'm afraid the Land Registry doesn't always give the answer you are looking for. Going to the neighbouring farms to talk would be my option

In reply to Alan M:

The  field  may be part of an agricultural holding and have a rural land register number but sounds like it's isolated? 

In reply to Alan M:

If it has stock in it will/should have a field number .That should take you to user, who should be able to help .

In reply to Alan M:

Map enquiry on land registry site:

https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/MapEnqui...

you need to start with an address, town or postcode to get a a base location but you can move around after that

In reply to Jacob Ram:

How do you intend to get hold of the field number and even if you can manage that how do you expect to be able to use the number to locate the livestock keeper?

None of the bodies that hold that information are apt to bandy it around so freely, they may offer to contact the livestock keeper with your details if you have a genuine need to get in touch.

In reply to timjones:

Ahh yes, not on MAGIC.gov...

was thinking of my work mapping facility

In reply to Bulls Crack:

I think that I would probably be fairly concerned if anyone and everyone could access data via this means.

It's hard to advise on how to go about this sort of enquiry without knowing it's purpose.

In reply to Alan M:

Nimbus Maps has some free elements. It will tell you if it is council owned or owned by a some of the big landowners. More info if you pay. 

In reply to timjones:

Is that for a livestock safety and security reason?

In reply to Timmd:

It's wider than that.

Would you be happy if any Tom, Dick or Harry could get your contact details just by describing the location of your home?

In reply to timjones:

Somehow I don't think you live in the real world, you can type in any postcode and see what was paid for each of the adresses and when it was sold for free, for a couple of quid you get the owners name as well. Unregistered property it's different but no more secret and nor should it be.

In reply to jimtitt:

Why do you think it should be so freely available, what is the benefit?

In reply to Alan M:

https://map.whoownsengland.org

its not comprehensive, but it does have some interesting info on it.

In reply to timjones:

There's plenty of reasons like allowing someone to take a civil action against the owner, enforce a right against them and to protect the rights of persons with an interest in the owners estate. For example if a husband buys land without informing his wife she would not know she had a right to part of it's value if they divorced.

In reply to Alan M:

google land registry

In reply to jimtitt:

In those instances the right answer to the original question would be ask a solicitor.  None of them require all and sundry to be able to get the contact details of the owner of any property that they want to nose around.

In reply to timjones:

Like it or not you have always been able to view and get copies of deeds, conveyancing and more recently land registry documents. They are public.

In reply to timjones:

That's fine, except the law of the land says otherwise. Land ownership is a matter of public record.

In reply to jimtitt:

No you haven’t- the Land Registry only became public twenty-odd years ago. And with unregistered land you still can’t tell.

jcm

In reply to timjones:

With websites like 192, it seems to be possible anyway, to find an address, and then the names of the people who live or have lived there. 

How one feels about this is an individual thing, but it already seems like the capability is out there.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

Silly question time:  how does one deal with unregistered land - either from the "I'd like to buy that" or the "their goats keep eating my trees" standpoint?

In reply to Niall_H:

With straying livestock a simple chat over the fence is usually the best starting point.

If you're desperate to buy a particular piece of land the same approach applies. Although in my experience those who want a specific piece of land never offer a realistic price so I would personally be very happy if they could not get my contact details and waste my time.

If you just want to buy a non-specific piece of land in a general area I would suggest approaching the property departmment of the local auctioneers, they will usually have a shrewd idea what may be available.