Finding out who owns my flat?

[SophiaWright]

I have been having issues with my letting agent, I have had problems with damp, mould and mice in the past all of which have taken months to get sorted. The heating has recently broken down and I have contacted the letting agent and they said they have informed the owner of the property as it is his responsibility.

Unfortunately I haven't heard from the owner and have no information on them, the lettings agent won't inform me who owns the property or give me any contact details for them. I am keen to get this sorted and I am not convinced the letting agent has even informed the owner of the problems. Is there anyway I can find out who owns the property on my own?

agency are breaking the law. You are legally entitled to the contact details of your landlord so request in writing and remind them of this.

you can pay £3 to the land registry to find out who the owner is, but that may not give up to date contact details. Smart landlords tell the land registry that they don't live at the property to protect against fraud, but not everyone does this. Probably worth a punt though, easily done online.

when you do get in touch with the landlord, give him/her all the details of how crap the agency is, because he is paying them.

you can check the deed online (small fee)
however the lettings agency is obliged to give you the name/contact details of the landlord.

If you go on the land registry website you can download the title to the property for three quid. It will say in section B called the proprietorship register who owns the property. It may even have another address for the owner if they have given a different address for if the land registry wrote to them. Hope that helps.

You can find out through the Land Registry online. I know that it does cost (maybe £3 or so) for each query you look up. Not sure if you have to buy a membership/account though as I use it through work. Hope that helps.

shelter uk says this

"Details of letting agents
All landlords have to give their tenants their name and a contact address in England or Wales. If the property is managed by a letting or property agent, they also provide you with the landlord's full name and address if you request it.

If the agent does not provide the information within 21 days you can report this to your local council's tenancy relations office. They can prosecute the agent, and the courts can fine them up to £25,000.

You should also be able to get your landlord's details from the Land Registry. You can do this online by filling in a form and paying a small fee."

Ooh sorry crossed posts.

If you can't get any joy from your letting agent then you can find out lots of details on who owns your flat by getting a Property Report form www.propertyreport.co.uk it includes the land registry / owner information. It is quite interesting as it also has information such as how much they paid for it and if they have a mortgage on the property, I've just looked up a house I was looking to buy... Very interesting.

there will be nothing on that 192.com site that you can't get for free elsewhere, or for £3 from the land registry.

as others note, the agent are legally obliged to tell you the landlord's details. Sue their sorry arses.

My problem is I don't really want to cause problems with the letting agent and I don't want to find myself being evicted. I would rather just get the information from another source, such as 192.com or the land registry. It looks like the property report includes the owners contact details so that could solve my problem.

Have you checked your lease? Usually the landlords address would be on there.

Wouldn't the landlord's address be on the Tenancy Agreement?

It's often the agents details that are on the tenancy if they signed as the LL's agent.

you can't be evicted for making this enquiry. Your contract is with the LANDLORD, and though his/her details may not be on it you are legally entitled to them.

the revenge evictions bill may have gone through by now, which means you can't be evicted if there is an outstanding repair that you have reported to the council. Now, whether you want to continue to pay to live in a dump is up to you, but when this becomes law you will have the option. (It is also a crooked tenant's charter and will have NO effect on rogue landlords, but that's another issue)