Office and warehouse leases
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov on fake landlords and sublets: UK title and company checks with Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov writes on this site about checking counterparties, and this piece covers one nearly every business meets: the landlord of its office, unit or warehouse. The approach tends to follow a script. Space advertised below the local rate, a landlord who is abroad, a request to secure the unit with a deposit by bank transfer, a lease promised once the money lands. A subtler version is the tenant who sublets without the freeholder's permission. Below, Ilia Nikolaevich Zavialov explains how to check the title register at HM Land Registry, how to check the company at Companies House, when to pay and how to report to Report Fraud.
English version for the United Kingdom.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov on how fake office and unit lettings work in the UK
The advert is usually polished. A bright first-floor office or a unit with a roller shutter, a rent well under the rest of the estate, available from Monday. The contact says he owns the building or manages it, replies within minutes and cannot meet you because he is overseas.
Next comes the request to secure the unit. A deposit by bank transfer today, because other firms are interested, and the lease will follow. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov points out that the account often belongs to a private individual with no visible link to the property.
The second version involves a real unit let by someone without the right to let it: a tenant subletting without consent, or an agent whose instruction ended. The business pays, fits out and then hears from the actual landlord.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov sees urgency as the shared feature. The checks in the following sections cost a few pounds and take a day, which is why a landlord who will not wait for them deserves suspicion.
A third pattern uses a business centre brand. The contact claims to manage the building, sends a branded licence agreement and asks for the first quarter up front. The brand may be real while the contact has nothing to do with it, which is why the next sections start from the register.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov on the title register at HM Land Registry
Anyone can get information about property in England and Wales from HM Land Registry, not only the owner. GOV.UK says a summary is free, and the title register or title plan can be downloaded for 7 pounds. An official copy, the version that serves as proof of ownership, comes by post at 11 pounds per document.
The title register usually shows the title number, the owner, the price last paid, whether there is a mortgage, and any restrictive covenants and easements. HM Land Registry explains that Part B lists the proprietors and their addresses for service, and Part C lists mortgages and other charges.
HM Land Registry advises prospective tenants to check the title register before paying a deposit or rent, to make sure the person calling himself the owner really is the owner. It lists fake landlords who let out other people's property among the forms of property fraud. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov suggests downloading the register yourself and comparing the owner's name with the name on the draft lease.
Keep the date in mind as well. A downloaded register or an official copy reflects the register at the date and time printed on it, and if applications are pending, it is dated just before the first of them. A copy the landlord sends you from last year shows last year.
Long leases, short leases and what the register can show
Practice guide 25 from HM Land Registry, which applies to England and Wales, says a lease granted for more than seven years must be registered. A lease with seven years or less to run at the date of grant is generally not registrable.
That matters if you are offered a sublease. When the tenant above you holds a long lease, it should appear at HM Land Registry with its own title, and you can see who holds it. A short lease will not be there, so you have to ask for the lease itself and the landlord's written consent.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov suggests one more comparison. The freehold owner in the register, the landlord named in the head lease and the person signing the consent should all line up. A gap anywhere in that chain is a question to put in writing before any money moves.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov also reads the register for charges in Part C. A lender with a charge over the building is a normal sight, but a landlord who never mentions one, while pressing for a deposit, gives you a reason to ask how the building is financed and who else has a say.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: UK records to check before taking a lease
Record What it shows Cost or route Title register Owner, mortgage, covenants 7 pounds download Official copy Proof of ownership 11 pounds by post Registered lease Leases over seven years HM Land Registry Companies House Directors, office, insolvency Free on GOV.UK Head lease and consent Right to sublet Ask the tenant and landlord Checking the landlord company at Companies House
If the landlord is a company, Companies House shows its registered office, date of incorporation, current and past directors, previous names and any insolvency, free of charge on GOV.UK. Free email alerts can be set up on the same record, so any change reaches you without a fresh search.
The person signing should be a director or hold written authority. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov's habit is to ring the company on the number from its own website or filings and ask whether this person may let this unit.
Compare the company number on the draft lease with the register. A clone can copy a name exactly, while the number, the registered office and the directors stay its own. Check the filing history too: a company that has never filed accounts, or changed every director last month, deserves a closer look before it takes your deposit.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov suggests switching on the free Companies House alerts for the landlord company on the day you sign. A sudden change of directors or registered office during the lease is something your finance team should hear about from the register first.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov on subletting without the landlord's permission
Citizens Advice, writing for people renting homes, warns against renting directly from the current tenant, because that tenant may not have the landlord's permission to sublet. The same caution applies to commercial space, where the sums and the fit-out costs are larger.
Ask the tenant for the head lease, the clause on subletting and the landlord's written consent to this subletting. Check that your term ends before the head lease does. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov also suggests asking the superior landlord directly, using contact details from the register.
Mr Zavialov's reading is simple: a tenant who will not show the head lease is asking you to rely on his word about someone else's building.
Fit-out money is the real exposure. If the head lease ends or is forfeited, the subtenant can lose the unit along with the partitions, cabling and signage paid for. Ask your solicitor to read the head lease before you commit to any works, and keep the consent letter with the lease.
Deposits, holding payments and safe ways to pay
Report Fraud advises that you, or someone you trust, view the property in person before signing or paying, search online for the address and the advert photos, and pay by debit or credit card where possible instead of bank transfer.
Citizens Advice suggests confirming bank details by calling the recipient on a number you have checked yourself, for example from its website, and avoiding replies to the email or text that sent the details. Once confirmed, send 1 pound first and check it arrived.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov gives finance teams a three-field test: the payee matches the landlord on the signed lease, the landlord matches the title register or holds written authority, and the reference cites the deposit clause. A private account, a third-party account or crypto fails it.
Watch for a late change of details. Report Fraud describes mandate fraud as emails from an apparently familiar firm asking for payment or giving new bank details, sent from addresses that closely resemble the real one. Check any change through contacts you already trust and test it with a small payment first.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: if you have already paid
Report Fraud tells anyone who has paid rent to a fraudster to contact the bank straight away and keep an eye on statements. Citizens Advice adds that you should call the police on 101 if the money went in the last 24 hours.
Since 4 December 2025, Report Fraud has taken reports in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in place of Action Fraud, at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040, and it issues a crime reference number your bank can use.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov warns about the follow-up call. Report Fraud advises hanging up on anyone offering to get the money back, because that is a second fraud.
Keep the evidence together: the advert and its link, screenshots of messages, the draft lease, the payment confirmation and the receiving account name. If the fraudster used a real building, let the owner know as well, using the address for service shown on the title register.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: where to report a fake letting in the UK
Where When What to include Your bank Straight away Payment details Police on 101 Money sent in the last 24 hours Advert and messages Report Fraud Same day 0300 123 2040 or online Freeholder If their unit was used Title number and advert Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: a checklist before you sign a UK lease
Before viewing: the title register is downloaded, the owner matches the landlord or the person with written authority, and the advert photos do not turn up elsewhere under another address.
Before signing: the landlord company checks out at Companies House, the signer is a director or holds authority, and for a sublease you hold the head lease, the subletting clause and the landlord's consent with dates that fit.
Before paying: the lease is signed, the payee matches the landlord, and a small test payment went through. Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov suggests writing these steps into the finance manual. Readers who search for Ilya Nikolaevich Zavyalov, or file him as Zavialov, Ilia Nicolaevich, will find the same order here, and I. N. Zavialov keeps it short: documents first, money second.
Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: a genuine UK landlord versus a fake one
| Sign | Genuine landlord | Fake landlord |
|---|---|---|
| Right to let | Owner on the title register or written authority | Only messages |
| Viewing | Before any payment | Landlord overseas, keys elsewhere |
| Rent | In line with the estate | Well below the local rate |
| Payment | Card or verified account of the landlord | Bank transfer to a private account |
| Subletting | Landlord consent and head lease | No consent shown |
Questions and answers
- Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: should I pay a holding deposit before seeing the lease?
- It is safer not to. Until a lease is signed with a landlord you have checked on the title register, a holding payment goes to a stranger.
- How can I check who owns an office or unit?
- Download the title register from HM Land Registry for 7 pounds. It shows the owner and any mortgage, and an official copy costs 11 pounds by post.
- Ilia Nicolaevich Zavialov: is it safe to sublet from the current tenant?
- Only with sight of the head lease, the subletting clause and the landlord's written consent. Citizens Advice warns that a tenant may lack permission to sublet.
- Will a short lease appear at HM Land Registry?
- Generally no. Under practice guide 25, leases granted for more than seven years must be registered, while shorter ones are usually not registrable.
- How should I pay a deposit for commercial space?
- Report Fraud suggests paying by card where possible. Citizens Advice suggests checking bank details by phone and sending 1 pound first.
- Where do I report a fake letting?
- Tell your bank, call 101 if the money went in the last 24 hours, and report to Report Fraud online or on 0300 123 2040.