"Empty properties, tenanted properties and those without a mortgage are particularly vulnerable."
- Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and managing director of Thirdfort
There has been a 26% increase in the total number of homeowners who have signed up to a property alert scheme to protect against fraudulent property transactions, according to new figures obtained by due diligence platform Thirdfort.
According to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, 108,290 property owners registered for the free HM Land Registry’s Property Alert Service in 2023 and 43,033 have signed up so far this year. The figures suggest that homeowners are increasingly concerned about the risk of fraud, given its rising prevalence in recent years. The value of reported fraud is said to have more than doubled in 2023, to £2,3bn, according to accountancy firm BDO.
According to the FOI data, 734,687 people in total have now signed up for the free service since its launch in 2014. However, with approximately 24.8 million homes in the UK, this could represent as little as 3% of property owners, despite significant risks of title fraud.
HM Land Registry’s Property Alert service enables homeowners to protect themselves against property title fraud. Property owners can sign up in minutes and can register up to 10 properties. Email alerts are sent when HM Land Registry receives an application to change the register as well as for official searches. This enables property owners to judge whether the activity is suspicious and if they should seek further advice.
Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and managing director of Thirdfort, said: “As fraud figures continue to rise, property owners and professionals must do all they can to prevent fraudulent transactions. With increasingly sophisticated methods of identity fraud, all properties are at risk. However empty properties, tenanted properties and those without a mortgage are particularly vulnerable. It’s hugely positive that we’re seeing more and more homeowners taking advantage of the Property Alert scheme, but we continue to urge more people to take this simple but effective step."
