What is the Land Registry?

HM Land Registry is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government, created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales. It currently reports to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The equivalent office in Scotland is the Registers of Scotland.

The Registry protects land and property ownership by registering title and changes in ownership or grants of leases and easements, etc. The Land Registry now holds 24 million titles and around 83% of the land mass.

Anyone buying or selling land or property in Bracknell, or taking out a mortgage, must apply to the Land Registry to register:

• unregistered land or property
• any new owner of registered land or property
• an interest affecting registered land or property, such as a mortgage, a lease or a right of way

When considering each application, they will use the law to decide whether and how it should be registered.

Once land or property is entered in the register, they record any ownership changes, mortgages or leases that affect it. Anyone who suffers loss because of an error or omission in the register, or because the register needs to be corrected, will normally be financially compensated.