Map search and how to use it
I’ve created this page to provide guidance how to use the Land Registry map
I’ve seen lots of discussion about various maps that are out there that claim to show land that hasn’t been registered. I would suggest that you don’t bother with any of those as they’ll be based upon the information provided by the Land Registry anyway
https://www.landregistry-uk.com/map-search
This map is definitive. I find it fantastic as it shows all of the boundaries of all the titles. This allows you to work out where the unregistered land is. A caveat though, unregistered doesn’t mean that no one owns it. Look at my other pages for finding out the information regarding ownership.
I’ve also realised that using the ID number that the map search provides becomes the best way to search quickly. I now make a note of the number. It’s actually called the InspireID number and is just an 8 figure number. If you create details of a property, add this.
When I now search I have the map search page open and next to it is the general Land Reg search page. If you look on the bottom of this it gives 4 options, one of which is search by InspireID.
Click on this and you just have a box to drop it into.
Where this saves time is when you want to repeat with a different number, i.e. if you’re looking at surrounding properties, or going through and updating your list.
Drop in a new number and search again. This way, you can go backwards and forwards quickly and can check lots of locations in minutes. I have hundreds of records, so this is very useful.
When you use this map, you are looking for two things, lack of continuity of the lines. And the second is a reference number somewhere on the land.
This is easiest when the property you’re looking at has a road boundary, but even then it can take a bit of getting used to.
As an example, here is the land which I currently have possession of, and the battle for which is on my Battle for Tremain page.
If you look at the first image it appears to have boundaries all around. It will do, all the adjacent property is registered and therefore what the map shows is their boundaries.
Makes it a little hard, doesn’t it. You get nothing without doing at least a little bit of work.
The second map shows it a little clearer.
What the page shows is the combination of aerial photo with the overlay of the boundaries on it. To get the second view, just move the map slightly. It then removes the detail, just leaving the boundary lines and other features.
Here is another example and a good example of what to look for. This is part of what appears to be a continuous block of woodland. I thought it was. It’s only since using this map that I can see that this part of it actually doesn’t have a boundary or number, and is therefore unregistered.
If you look at the road boundary, there isn’t one. All the surrounding land has boundaries so this actually shows the extents of the actual land itself. Of interest of course is that there is what appears to be a boundary across the road, but this is the boundary a completely separate property.
This last property is the mother lode..potentially at least.
It’s a piece of land part of a farm complex. However, the cottages were developed back in the 90’s, and although this map does show the barn on the left as part of the other titles, there is other evidence that it isn’t. And it appears to be derelict. I’m going to investigate this one further, but there is potential here. There are lots of places where people developed them, split them up, and then sold them on, but seem to have kept hold of a field, a few buildings etc, probably with the thought they may eventually do something with it. They don’t, they get old and die. And in this case, the fact the main property was done up in the 90’s means the actual owner may be long dead by now. This is one I will be investigating further.
A couple of points to be cautious about
If the block of land is large, the number may not be immediately obvious
The same applies to boundaries. Land ownership crosses roads, so don’t assume that because there isn’t a line at a road boundary, it isn’t just included in a larger block of land. Check all the surrounding land to see if there is a larger boundary.
The info this provides is normally just a page with a date of sale(if any) and a price. If there is no price, it shows the property hasn’t changed hands for decades, probably at least 20 – 30 years. If it says Value Stated, it means it’s been inherited and not sold.