Land Registry puts mortgage deeds online

All new documents to be scanned and added to world's biggest property database

Leases and mortgage deeds will soon be available online from the Land Registry.

The documents will be available from Land Registry's online services - Land Registry Direct and Land Register Online - as leases and mortgage deeds are added to the register.

From 12 July all newly registered leases and mortgages will be scanned into the register, adding around 10,000 documents daily to the existing database of more than 12 million deeds.

Customers can download details including the title register (which shows who owns the property, whether it is mortgaged and the price paid), the title plan (which shows the land owned), and the deeds.

The original documents will be destroyed after they have been scanned, as the electronic images can be used to produce official copies.

Leases and mortgages that have been registered before 12 July will remain in paper format and will not be held electronically until an application for an official copy is made.

The Land Registry has the world's largest property database of more than 20 million titles, with around £1m worth of property processed every minute in England and Wales.