When my house was built?

One of the first things is to contact the previous owners if you have just bought the property; failing this, contact your solicitor or licensed conveyancer who did the conveyancing. They may be able to help you.

Nother way to find out when your property was built is through the “property information form”, a document your solicitor would have sent you when you bought the property.

Trying to find the exact date when a property was built for a period property may be relatively easy. Check the history societies to see what you can dig out.

You can visit the HM land registry website and obtain the title deeds, also known as the office copy, that will have the date your home was built.

If you visit the HM land registry website, ensure you download the freehold title rather than the leasehold title. The Leasehold title may not contain the information you require. 

Trying to find out when a period house was built especially Georgian properties, maybe a hit and miss as to the exact date the house was built. An Edwardian property as a historic building also may not be an easy task to find the exact date the house was built.

Other ways to find when my house was built?

However, obtaining or visiting the following will be most beneficial for you to dig deeper into the history of any house:

Copies of title register

County Record office

Parish records

Historical societies 

How to find property ownership from the Land registry?

Go to the HM land registry website by clicking this link (Land Registry). You will be asked to register, which is very simple and straightforward.

After you have set up your account, enter the full postcode of the property you are searching for.

The property you are searching for on your street will appear. You may be required to enter the house number on the first screen. 

You may see the option for leasehold or freehold. To find when your home was built, you should consider selecting a freehold. 

By paying the fee, which currently is £6 and download the PDF version of the office copy (title deed).

For an additional £6, you can download the ‘Title plan’, which will show the boundaries of the land surrounding your property. 

Although it can be a daunting document to look at, do not worry. The age of your property is near the top of the document.

Usually, you need to look at the first section, ‘A: Property Register’.

After where you see number ‘1’ (in brackets), you can find the date when your property was first registered.

A very small number of very old properties have not exchanged hands and are not registered with the HM land registry. 

Some tell-tale signs can narrow the rough build of your home and are:

Thatched roof

sash windows

Clay tile roof

Bay windows

Art deco

Double glazing

The above will only give you a rough indication of your quest to find out when my house was built?

Can anyone access records of when a house was built?

No matter who you are, you do not need to be the owner of a property if you need to know how to find out when a house was built. The records at the HM land registry are records freely open to the public to download.

Although solicitors and licensed conveyancers use the HM land registry regularly, the public is encouraged to access the records as and when they need access, and the process is very simple.

Local councils frequently access the HM land registry records to find a property owner for derelict or empty properties. They also use it to determine who the landlord may be for a tenanted property.

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Disclaimer:

This post is for general use only and is not intended to offer legal, tax, or investment advice; it may be out of date, incorrect, or maybe a guest post. You are required to seek legal advice from a solicitor before acting on anything written hereinabove.