CASE STUDY

HM Land Registry base title plans on Ordnance Survey data

HM Land Registry title plans based on OS MasterMap data provide a visual representation of the general extent of the land in a registered title.

HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership valued at £7 trillion. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles, showing evidence of ownership for more than 87% of the land mass of England and Wales.

Ordnance Survey’s large-scale data is vital to the land registration process and creation of title plans. Title plans based on OS MasterMap data, provide a visual representation of the general extent of the land in a registered title. A title plan may also contain other plan references such as easements, covenants or areas of land removed from the title.

|3 MIN READ
  • OS MasterMap Topography Layer

Challenge

HM Land Registry are responsible for providing a reliable record of ownership and interest affecting land and property, as well as a title plan that indicates general property boundaries.

Anyone buying or selling land or property, or taking out a mortgage, must apply to HM Land Registry to register:

  • unregistered land or property
  • any new owner of registered land or property
  • an interest affecting registered land or property, such as a mortgage, a lease or a right of way.

Once land or property is in the register, ownership changes, mortgages or leases that affect it are also recorded.

HM Land Registry needs access to up-to-date, detailed mapping data in order to fulfil its responsibilities and provide users with accurate title plans.

Solution

HM Land Registry are able to create detailed title plans, and can relate individual title plans to one another, using OS mapping data, OS MasterMap Topography Layer.

OS MasterMap Topography Layer provides visual context, mapping from the ground up. For cartographic use, it’s captured and designed for display at 1:1250, 1:2500 and 1:10 000 scales in urban, rural and mountain/moorland areas, respectively.

To ensure that the most current data is available, HM land Registry takes a daily supply of Ordnance Survey’s large-scale data.

Result

Access to the land registry allows sales and transfers of titles to be made easily, with the description and representation provided in the title plan straightforward for owners to understand.

Ordnance Survey collects and updates data using methods such as remote sensing and a team of 230 surveyors. This means OS produce highly accurate and reliable data, ideal for HM Land Registry to fulfil its responsibility of providing reliable records.

"Ordnance Survey is a key contributor to HM Land Registry’s purpose: safeguarding land and property across England and Wales. Up to 3,000 case workers use Ordnance Survey data every day to facilitate the process of land registration and is integral to the creation, integrity and maintenance of the register."

Andrew Trigg, HM Land Registry Chief Geospatial and Data Officer

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Products and solutions featured in this study

  • OS MasterMap Topography Layer

    A map dataset of Great Britain's landscape – from roads to fields, to buildings and trees, fences, paths and more.