How do I find out who owns a piece of land near me?
If you are asking because you want something done about its derelict state, do not even bother enquiring. Instead, make a complaint through your local ward councillor (address on council’s website) and request action under section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act. If you are looking to buy the land, perhaps to clear it up yourself, then you first port of call is Land Registry Direct (link below) where, for £3 you can see who the registered proprietor is. Of course, if the land is not registered, then this will be of no use and, instead, as Dr David suggests, you may need to enquire of the local occupiers or the council. If the land has been derelict for years, you could approach the council with a view to funding a back-to-back compulsory purchase order (under which you buy the land from the council for the amount of compensation which they have to pay into court): they do have powers to do this. Good luck with the problem.
