Property title fraud is one of the most financially devastating crimes a homeowner can face. A fraudster who successfully sells or remortgages your property without your knowledge could leave you with a legal dispute that takes years to resolve. A property fraud restriction — formally known as a Form LL restriction — is one of the most effective ways to prevent this from happening.
This page explains what a property fraud restriction is, who should have one, and what you need to do when you come to sell or remortgage a property that has one registered on the title.
A property fraud restriction is an entry on your property's title register at HM Land Registry that prevents any sale, remortgage, or transfer from being registered unless a solicitor certifies that the person executing the transaction has been independently verified as the genuine registered owner.
The formal name is a Form LL restriction. It is sometimes called an anti-fraud restriction, a disponor restriction, or an identity verification restriction. All of these refer to the same thing.
HM Land Registry itself recommends this restriction as one of the primary ways homeowners can protect their property from fraud.
Property fraud typically follows a pattern. A fraudster identifies a property they want to target — usually one that is tenanted, vacant, mortgage-free, or where the owner lives abroad. They then gather information about the registered owner, sometimes using post intercepted at the property, and use this to impersonate them. They instruct a solicitor, produce forged or fraudulently obtained identity documents, and attempt to sell or remortgage the property.
Without a Form LL restriction, this is disturbingly possible. With the restriction in place, no transaction can be registered without an independent solicitor conducting a face-to-face or video identity check against the genuine registered owner.
The Form LL restriction works by inserting a mandatory verification step into any transaction. When a fraudster attempts to sell or remortgage your property, they cannot get past this step — because the independent solicitor will verify their identity against official documents and immediately identify that they are not the genuine registered owner.
The restriction does not prevent you from selling or remortgaging legitimately. It simply requires that you — the genuine owner — confirm your identity to an independent solicitor before any transaction proceeds. This is a minor inconvenience when you are doing it yourself. It is an insurmountable barrier to a fraudster.
The Form LL restriction works best alongside other protective measures:
Having a Form LL restriction on your title does not prevent you from selling or remortgaging. It simply requires one additional step: obtaining a Certificate of Compliance from an independent solicitor confirming that you are the genuine registered owner.
This involves a short video call — around 15 minutes — with an independent solicitor. They verify your identity against your passport or driving licence, review your transaction documents, and issue a signed certificate. That certificate goes to your transaction solicitor, who includes it in the Land Registry application. Your transaction then proceeds normally.
The whole process typically takes 3–5 working days with FormLL's standard service. Fast Track guarantees next working day. The restriction that protects your property from fraud takes only days to satisfy when you come to transact legitimately.
FormLL connects you to a specialist solicitor within 24 hours. Certificate in days. Fixed fee £160 inc VAT.
Get Your Certificate — £160You can check your title register at HM Land Registry for around £3 at gov.uk. The restriction will appear in section B of the title register and will contain the phrase "without a certificate signed by a conveyancer." If you see this, you have a Form LL restriction.
Yes. Anti-fraud restriction, Form LL restriction, disponor restriction, and identity verification restriction all refer to the same entry on your title register. The formal Land Registry name is Form LL.
Yes. The restriction can be permanently removed via an application to Land Registry. However, removing it eliminates the fraud protection it provides. For most homeowners — particularly landlords and overseas owners — keeping the restriction in place is the right choice despite the occasional inconvenience of obtaining a certificate when transacting.