The majority of cases of this taking place is when anyone lives abroad, or the property is rented out, the property remains empty, is not registered with the Land Registry or is not mortgaged.

Since 1998 all properties will be have been registered if they were mortgaged or purchased and the Land Registry advise people to check the register if anyone has concerns or is unsure.

A spokesperson for the Registry says that if anyone finds the information on the register to be wrong, e.g. a different contact  address for a landlord, then they should be contacted to rectify the details.  

The spokesperson said: "You can track changes to the register or put a restriction on your title if you think you’re at risk. You can also sign up to get property alerts if someone applies to change the register of your property, for example, if they try to use your property for a mortgage,

"This won’t automatically block any changes to the register but will alert you when something changes so that you can take action. You can get alerts for up to 10 properties and there’s no fee,

He concluded by saying: "You can stop Land Registry registering a sale or mortgage on your property unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies the application was made by you,".

Anyone who does not live at the property and owns it privately can complete a request for a restriction for owners not living at the property. Business owners must fill in a request for a restriction for business owners of the property. It costs nothing submit these requests.