Property: Fraud
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) providing support for victims to recover investments and (b) holding perpetrators accountable in cases of fraudulent property sales.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
HM Land Registry provides a state guarantee which in appropriate circumstances financially compensates victims of property registration fraud.
HM Land Registry has the power to seek recovery of indemnity payments from perpetrators of fraud and conveyancers who are complicit. It can also seek to recover such payments from those who, through negligence, have failed to prevent property fraud from occurring.
HM Land Registry also offers a free Property Alert service to try to avoid people becoming the victims of property fraud.
Property fraud can be prosecuted in the criminal courts resulting in a criminal conviction and punishment. Civil or commercial fraud may result in a claim of compensation brought by the claimant against the party who committed the fraud.
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