UK gives no date for free access to large land ownership data
The UK government has declined to say when the public will be able to find out, free of charge, who owns large tracts of land across England and Wales, The Guardian reported. The commitment dates to March 2026, when Emma Reynolds, then the environment secretary, said part of the paywall around Land Registry records would be lifted. Reynolds gave no date for the change, which applied only to part of the protected records.
The same month, Defra said in its land use framework that it would work with HM Land Registry during 2026 to provide free spatial data on ownership of larger properties. That data, essentially maps linking larger plots to their owners, was expected to cover the vast majority of England and Wales while excluding almost all homeowners.
HM Land Registry is an arm's length body and non-ministerial government department that falls under the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. In July 2026 it said its plans for releasing the data were at a very early stage, it was unable to comment on timelines and it anticipated providing an update early next year. In August 2026 it said it was not clear which parts of the data would be made public, nor who might be allowed to access the data and by what means.
The pledge was made before a change at the top of government. Andy Burnham took over as prime minister from Keir Starmer in summer 2026, The Guardian reported.
