How to find anything
Property & Owners: Search Guides
Find who owns a house or a piece of land, using the land registries that hold the answer. Ownership sits in a land registry: county offices in the US, provincial registries in Canada, and HM Land Registry in England and Wales.
Property ownership is one of the few kinds of personal data that's routinely public. Land registries exist to show who owns what. The catch: each country, and in the US each county, keeps its own records, with different search tools and fees. The guide explains where to look and how to read what you find.
Guides
What to try first
- Get the exact address or the parcel number. A tax bill or a listing usually shows the parcel number.
- In the US, search the county assessor or recorder's website, which is usually free.
- In Canada, use the provincial land registry, which usually charges a small fee per search.
- In England and Wales, buy the title register from HM Land Registry; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own registers.
Which guide do I need?
- You want to contact the owner of an empty or neglected house: How to Find Out Who Owns a Property. Find the registered owner, then write to them at the property or the address the record gives.
- You're buying or renting and want to check the seller or landlord owns it: How to Find Out Who Owns a Property. Compare the registered owner's name with the person you're dealing with.
- The owner is a company rather than a person: How to Look Up a Business and Who Runs It. Look the company up in its official register to see who runs it.
- You're trying to find a person and only know where they used to live: How to Find Someone's Address (Legally). Owner records are a lead, but they show owners, not tenants.
Coming next
We're writing these next. They'll appear here once they're checked:
- How to look up what a house sold for
- How to check planning and permit history