HM Land Registry consults on free title data for public bodies and wider ownership datasets

HM Land Registry (HMLR), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Defra opened a consultation on 27 October on widening access to land ownership data in England and Wales, including cost-free access to all titles for public sector bodies.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 22 December 2026. According to the GOV.UK consultation page, the proposals cover new ownership datasets, changes to access and charging arrangements, public interest access, accelerating land registration, and potential powers to restrict access to information where there is evidence of a significant risk of harm.

HMLR launched it alongside a separate consultation on its fee structure, which runs over the same dates. That second exercise proposes replacing value-based Scale 2 fees with fixed fees.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage OBE, Minister for Housing and Local Government, said the consultation aims "to improve access to this invaluable data for housebuilders, businesses, and local communities".

The datasets

HMLR is exploring publication of a new dataset of the owners of significant land holdings. In his foreword to the consultation document, Stephen Morgan MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at Defra, said the Land Use Framework committed the government to working with HMLR to increase access to ownership information.

The existing published datasets, covering land owned by UK and overseas companies, represent about 16% of titles in England and Wales, according to the consultation document. The new dataset would extend published ownership coverage to the vast majority of land.

HMLR estimates that the existing company ownership datasets boost UK gross value added (GVA) by between £77m and £139m a year, according to the consultation document.

Access and charging

All title documents are currently subject to a £7 fee for online inspection, and HMLR said most can only be obtained individually as PDFs. Its 2024 Fees Order raised information service fees by £4, the first increase in more than 10 years.

Under the proposals, public sector bodies would have cost-free access to information across all HMLR titles, including residential titles. Researchers working in the public interest, such as academics, regulators and investigative journalists, could also get free access to all titles subject to conditions.

Iain Banfield, Chief Executive, HM Land Registry, said: "The proposals in these consultations have the potential to dramatically improve the way we work with our customers".

Unregistered land

The consultation also covers accelerating land registration. Stephen Morgan said in the document that most unregistered land is agricultural and the government wants to work with farmers and landowners.

Background

HMLR's Strategy 2025+ says the organisation will support the creation of the National Data Library.

The registry guarantees the owners of more than 27 million property titles. According to the strategy, registered property ownerships are worth nearly £9 trillion, with around £1.66 trillion of lending secured against them.

How to respond

The government said it strongly encourages responses through the online survey on the MHCLG Citizen Space site. Responses can also be emailed to futureaccessconsultation@landregistry.gov.uk or posted to HMLR's Policy Team in Croydon.

The government will publish its response to the consultation on GOV.UK after the 22 December close.