For £10, a registered user with the Land Registry’s website can obtain a copy of the lease, giving anyone, including potential fraudsters, a wide range of information on a property, including the owner’s signature.
Bob Sturges, director of communications at Money Partners, said: “Mortgage fraud is always a concern and while no anti-fraud system is fail-safe, I couldn’t believe the level of information available so easily. I’d be particularly worried about the availability of signatures as this is a gateway to a number of fraud opportunities. Data protection is used in so many areas so I don’t know why it doesn’t apply here.”
Two weeks ago, Mortgage Introducer revealed that police were on the hunt for a gang in the West Midlands who were using the Land Registry to access information on home owners before remortgaging their properties without their knowledge.
A statement from the Land Registry insisted it was unaware of any cases of mortgage fraud involving its information. “The Land Register and documents filed with Land Registry are open to public inspection to help with buying and selling houses and land. The system’s transparency is designed to combat fraud; no one can say they own a property that is registered to someone else.
“There is no evidence that fraud has resulted from the availability of this information from Land Registry. If we receive evidence of a security risk, Land Registry, in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office, will, of course, investigate.”
However, Linda Will, managing director of Accord Mortgages, said: “The Land Registry should make sure that only people who have a right to such information have access. As lenders, we have checks to verify someone’s identity so it shouldn’t be beyond a government department to create some security checks.
“The Land Registry’s defence story is that it is open to speed up transactions but it is still the slowest part of the process – this is hypocritical to say the least.”
