UK Proposes Free Public Access to Land Ownership Records

The UK government has set out proposals to lift the paywall on information about who owns land in England and Wales, and has opened an eight-week public consultation on them, The Guardian reported on 27 October 2026.

HM Land Registry, a non-ministerial department (a government body not run directly by a minister), registers the ownership of land and property in England and Wales. Its search service lets people find information about a property even if they do not own it, but it charges a fee. According to the government's own guidance, a title register or title plan costs £7.

Under the proposals, public sector bodies, including government departments and local authorities, would be able to access Land Registry information free of charge. A new free public dataset would identify the owners of significant land-holdings, covering the vast majority of land in England and Wales. Ordinary homeowners would not be included in that dataset.

More sensitive Land Registry information might be made available to investigators, civil society groups and regulators who can demonstrate a clear public interest, the proposals say.

Opinion on the plans is divided. Guy Shrubsole, campaigner and author of Who Owns England?, warned that the country's biggest landowners may try to scupper the proposals, and urged people to submit their views to the consultation. Gavin Lane, president of the Country Land and Business Association, warned that making more personal information public could leave families vulnerable to fraud and other risks.

A UK government spokesperson said at least 10% of who really owns land in England is currently unknown. The government's case for opening the records rests on that gap.

The timing has been a subject of earlier reporting. On 15 October 2026, the Guardian reported that the government had refused to say when the public would be able to freely access information about who owns large plots of land.