How to find property owner

xxJudexx

Hi

I have lived in my current property for 19 years. There is an empty house a few doors down that was empty for years before we even moved into our house.

This house has recently had some trees pruned and there was recently a family who tried squatting but the police were quick to stop that! And there was a cannabis farm shut down about 7 years ago. Other than that there has been no action in this house.

I am really curious as to who owns this property so I did a basic land reg search and it said they coudn't find a property title for it. Is there any other way to find out who owns it? I'm guessing it's been in the same family for generations but wouldn't a title need to be generated if the house was left in a will (i'm totally clueless but this seems common sense to me). Surely someone is paying rates for this property, it's most likely a band F property so not cheap! I have no interest in buying it, it would just be good to know who owns it

[Deleted User]

If you're just being a 'nosey neighbour', I would twitch the curtains until I saw something else happening (like the trees being pruned) and ask whoever was doing the work.

xxJudexx

I doubt any work will be done for another 10 years!! :rotfl::rotfl:

melstar11

The OP has already done a LR search by the sound of things. The place could be unregistered which was why you didn't find anything. There was no uniform date for compulsory registrations across the country (assuming you are in England and Wales) and even now compulsory registration only happens when title is transferred. If you desperately want to know then neighbours who have lived in the street a long time may know some of the details or the local history library could have information such as electoral roll and telephone directory records.

AdrianC

melstar11 wrote: »

There was no uniform date for compulsory registrations across the country (assuming you are in England and Wales)

True, but a rough rule-of-thumb date is around the late '80s, mid '90s.

xxJudexx

melstar11 wrote: »

The OP has already done a LR search by the sound of things. The place could be unregistered which was why you didn't find anything. There was no uniform date for compulsory registrations across the country (assuming you are in England and Wales) and even now compulsory registration only happens when title is transferred. If you desperately want to know then neighbours who have lived in the street a long time may know some of the details or the local history library could have information such as electoral roll and telephone directory records.

Yes I did a LR search and the property is unregistered. Like I said I have lived on the street for 20 years and it had been empty for a long time even then. No neighbours know anything other than a rumour that the property got left to someone who was in no fit mental state to take on the property. But if that was the case I assume a power of attorney would have been issued and the house either sold or rented out?? I will continue my search at the local library and try to find old electoral rolls It's a huge house (6 beds!) and it's such a shame to see it literally rotting away

Chanes

It the kind of thing, if I was curious, I would pay for a Private Investigator to do, they have it done pretty quick I think.

eddddy

xxJudexx wrote: »

This house has recently had some trees pruned...

That suggests that the trees were likely to cause property damage.

Were the trees near a neighbour's house?

If so, the neighbour may have instigated the work. So either the neighbours contacted the property owner to request them to do the work, or the neighbours should have made reasonable enquiries to establish the owner before doing the work themselves.

Either way, the neighbours might have some useful information.

kazwookie

Go and ask the person who has lived longest in the street if they know anything, people love to gossip................!

AdrianC

xxJudexx wrote: »

No neighbours know anything other than a rumour that the property got left to someone who was in no fit mental state to take on the property. But if that was the case I assume a power of attorney would have been issued and the house either sold or rented out?? I will continue my search at the local library and try to find old electoral rolls

All an electoral roll will tell you is if anybody is registered to vote there. You already know they aren't, because nobody's lived there for years, and the last resident is dead. You could then try to follow through probate etc, but there are probably easier ways.

Somebody must be paying the council tax... Who...?

AdrianC

AFF8879 wrote: »

Is it possible the local authority owns it? Isn't that what happens by default if a person dies and has no traceable relatives / made no will?

Intestate estates with no traceable relatives pass to the Crown, not the local authority.

If there was something like a house involved, it would be sold, not left to rot.