How to check who built your house

Six ways to find the builder of a house in England and Wales, from a ten-second search to the documents a solicitor would look at.

1. Search BuildingRecord (free)

We match every home first sold as a new build since 1995 to the company that owned the land while it was being sold. Search your postcode or street:

2. Your title deeds or the first transfer

If you own the home, your conveyancing pack usually includes the original transfer from the builder (often a form TP1). The seller named on it is the builder's company. Your solicitor may also have the new-home warranty certificate, which names the builder.

3. HM Land Registry title register

You can buy a copy of the title register and title plan for any registered property from HM Land Registry for a small fee. For a newer home, the register often refers to the transfer from the developer, and the title plan shows the original estate layout.

4. The planning application

Search your council's online planning portal for the estate's original application (try the street name, or the land before it was built on). The applicant or agent is usually the housebuilder. Applications from before around 2000 may only be held on paper.

5. Building control and warranty records

Building control completion certificates and warranty documents name the builder. Your council's building control team, or the warranty provider, may be able to help if you own the home.

6. Companies House

Once you have a company name, look it up on Companies House to see whether it's part of a larger group, whether it's still trading and who ran it. BuildingRecord links each development to the company's Companies House record where we have it.

How sure is the answer?

On BuildingRecord every match has a confidence level. High means a registered housebuilder owned several plots on the estate while homes were first sold. Medium means one strong piece of evidence. Low means only a company name suggests a builder, so we say "possibly". The evidence is shown on every development page.