Land Registry plans free title registers for company-owned land: what it means for block companies

What happened

On 27 October 2026 HM Land Registry opened two consultations, and on 5 November it updated the main one with a corrected footnote. Both close on 22 December 2026 and cover England and Wales.

The first, Future of access to HM Land Registry information, proposes:

• a free, mappable dataset of the owners of “significant land holdings” above an area threshold still to be chosen;
• free access to the title registers of land owned by companies (the UK and Overseas Companies datasets, about 16% of titles) and of significant land holdings, with limits on bulk and automated access;
• free access to every title register, including homes, for public sector bodies and for approved public-interest users such as regulators, academics and investigative journalists;
• possible new powers for the Land Registry to suppress or restrict access to entries where there is clear evidence of a significant risk of harm, such as domestic abuse or harassment.

The consultation notes that all title documents currently cost £7 each to inspect online. Fees for official copies used in legal transactions, such as buying, selling or leasing, would not change under these proposals.

The second, Restructuring HM Land Registry fees, would replace the value-based Scale 2 fees (now £20 to £305) with two fixed fees: one for changes of ownership where no money changes hands, such as a transfer of equity, and one for registering a mortgage. The amounts will be set after the consultation.

Baroness Taylor, the housing minister, said the plans would help “increase transparency and support better-informed decisions about land use”.

What it means for your building

Most self-managed blocks touch the register in two ways.

Your own freehold title. If a company owns your block’s freehold, its title is very likely in the companies dataset already, so the owner’s name is public in bulk today. Under the proposal, anyone could also read the full register free of charge, including charges (such as a loan secured on the freehold), notices and restrictions. That is mostly helpful: buyers’ solicitors and lenders can see what they need. But directors may want to check the register is tidy before it is easier to read, for example that an old charge has been removed and the company’s address for service is current.

Your flat owners’ titles. Directors often need to know who owns each flat and where to reach them: to chase arrears from an owner who lives elsewhere, to send section 20 notices, or to check who qualifies before a right to manage or freehold purchase. Those titles are usually owned by individuals, so under the proposals they would still cost £7 each. For a 24-flat block that is £168 for a full set, the same as now. Block companies are not in the public sector group, and the consultation does not say whether they could use the public-interest route.

The proposed power to suppress entries could matter too. If some owners’ details were hidden, a block company may find it harder to trace an absent owner. The consultation asks what safeguards and exceptions there should be, so this is a point block companies can raise.

What to do now

• Download your freehold title register once (£7 today) and check the proprietor, any charges and the address for service. Ask your solicitor how to remove anything that is out of date.
• Keep your own register of flat owners with contact addresses, so you rely less on paid searches.
• Set up HM Land Registry’s free Property Alert on the freehold title, so the company hears if anyone applies to change it.
• If you want block companies to be able to check flat owners’ titles more cheaply, or have views on hiding entries, respond to the consultation by 22 December 2026 through the online survey on gov.uk.

This is general information, not legal advice. The proposals may change after the consultation.

How Freeholdpilot helps

Freeholdpilot’s titles and leases register records the freehold title number and, for each flat, the HM Land Registry title number, registered owner, lease term and the date the register was last checked, so the board knows which registers it already holds and when each was last looked at.