Landlords are being urged to sign up to HM Land Registry’s free Property Alert after a sharp rise in property fraud. The service has already stopped more than £59 million of suspicious transactions, and landlord groups say rental homes are especially exposed because owners often don’t live at the address. The fix? Swift alerts before damage is done.
Why rental homes are prime targets
Letting stock is ripe for impersonation. As the NRLA notes, criminals can intercept post, copy identities or even market a property for sale if the owner isn’t physically present. Two recent cases show the playbook.
• Fraudsters tried to transfer ownership of a £360,000 bungalow; the owner was alerted, found the locks changed and a “For Sale” sign outside, and the application was cancelled.
• A separate attempt sought to register a £200,000 mortgage against a rented terrace without the owner’s knowledge; again, the alert led to swift cancellation.
Those schemes are lucrative precisely because values remain high and transactions multi-step. One successful hit can net crooks hundreds of thousands of pounds—and leave landlords dealing with legal headaches, refinancing delays, and tenants spooked by unexpected viewings or lock changes. The landlord impact is direct: threatened title, void periods, and time-consuming evidence gathering to unwind fraudulent filings.
The NRLA explains: “Rental properties can be more attractive opportunities for fraudsters because landlords don’t live at the property address, making it easier for criminals to intercept official correspondence or even assume false identities using the rental address.”
HM Land Registry | NRLA guidance
How the HM Land Registry Property Alert works
Registration takes minutes. Create a free account on the HM Land Registry website and monitor up to 10 properties from one dashboard. You’ll receive:
- Instant email alerts when someone applies to change ownership, transfer the title, or register a mortgage.
- Six-monthly summaries confirming which properties you’re tracking and any activity.
- Application details (who submitted it and when), so you can challenge a filing immediately.
For portfolio landlords, that early warning is gold. If you didn’t authorise the application, contact HM Land Registry straight away and your conveyancer or solicitor. Quick responses stop fraudulent dealings before they’re registered, protecting both title and rental income.
Practical steps and specialist protection for landlords
Think of Property Alert as the first line of defence. Layer on a few simple controls to make yourself a harder target:
- Keep the address for service current with HM Land Registry and add an email address so notices reach you fast.
- Register restrictions where appropriate (ask your solicitor) so no disposition is registered without a solicitor’s certificate confirming your identity.
- Secure post for properties with communal mailboxes and warn tenants to report unexpected viewings, surveys, or locksmith visits.
- Maintain paper trails for rent, repairs, and inspections—useful if you need to prove legitimate activity quickly.
- Title insurance and portfolio-wide checks via your conveyancer can add belt-and-braces protection for higher-value assets.
- Internal controls: if you use an agent, set written thresholds for when they must escalate any unusual contact about ownership or mortgages.
Landlord takeaway: Property fraud is preventable. The free HM Land Registry alert is a no-brainer for any buy-to-let portfolio, from single lets to HMOs.
Editor’s view
Fraud risk rarely shows up in yield spreadsheets, yet a single bogus mortgage can wipe out a year’s profit and gnaw at tenant confidence. The solution is dull but decisive—alerts, restrictions, and clean processes. As digital conveyancing expands, will lenders and agents move to “alert-by-default” for landlords, or will it remain opt-in?
Author: Editorial team — UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance.
Published: 2 October 2025
Sources: HM Land Registry (Property Alert guidance & case summaries); National Residential Landlords Association (landlord fraud guidance).
Related reading: Soaring Tenancy Fraud Uncovered in New Study
