Digital Commons Cooperative

theguardian.comNo timeline for lifting Land Registry paywall as ownership remains opaqueDefra promised in March to work towards free access to data on large plots in England and Wales

ICYMI - Seven months ago, the government promised to lift the Land Registry paywall on large plots of land in England and Wales. It still won't say when.

Thanks to everyone who joined Who Owns What, our webinar with the Centre for Investigative Journalism on tracing who's behind land and property. We've provided a long list of resources, including the recording that you can check out at the link below. digitalcommons.coop/who-owns-wha...

🗺️ Thanks @flourish.org for having us at Land Talks last week! Kate Swade took the stage for DCC to talk LandExplorer. Slides are available here: digitalcommons.coop/landexplorer... #LandExplorer #HousingJustice

Recently we ran our first few Solidarity Tier meetings. These are groups paying £600 a year to join in building LandExplorer with us, and to help make the digital commons more robust 🙏 💚 More info here: landexplorer.coop/

It's here! The Historical Ownership Layer is now live in LandExplorer. Go back to 2017 and see how the property portfolios of landlords, councils and housing associations have changed, year by year. Campaigners asked for this feature! Watch how it works: digital-commons.gitbook.io/landexplorer...

Still time to sign up for "Who Owns What?", our webinar on land & property data 📅 29 Sept, 17:00–18:30, online We'll cover LandExplorer, our land ownership investigations tool, then Companies House with Tom Sanderson (CIJ). No experience needed. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/who-owns-w...

New in LandExplorer: the Historical Ownership Layer! Use the year slider to see how company, council, and housing association land ownership has changed since 2017, or search a company to see everything it owned in a given year. LandExplorer: landexplorer.coop/

20 Sept

Join us on 29th September for a practical online webinar on tracing land and property ownership. We'll cover how to use LandExplorer, then dig into Companies House with the Centre for Investigative Journalism to find out who's really behind a company name. > www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/who-owns-w...

16 Sept

We're speaking at Land Talks next Tue 22 Sept, about LandExplorer (our tool for finding out who owns the land and buildings around you). There will be time to ask questions + chat! 📍 The Sekforde, London 🕕 6:00pm start 🎟️ £10: luma.com/mka0gu7s

ucl.ac.ukTaking back control of rentsAuthored by Beth Stratford and Joe Beswick

One interesting finding in new research from Dr Beth Stratford and Dr Joe Beswick: 43% of landlords in England own just one property. But weight that by tenants instead of landlords, and the picture flips.

Her and Dr Beswick's new report, Taking Back Control of Rents, which models the impact of rent regulation on affordability, landlord profitability and public spending, is available in here: www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/pub... And if you're trying to

work out whether a landlord you're organising against owns one flat or fifty, LandExplorer's back search feature is built for exactly this and is free to use: landexplorer.coop/ #HousingJustice #LandExplorer #RentControls #HousingCrisis #DataForGood

ucl.ac.ukTaking back control of rentsAuthored by Beth Stratford and Joe Beswick

Dr Stratford walked organisers through this finding and more at one of our recent Data for Housing Justice workshops.

Her research looks at how introducing rent controls could actually reduce government spending on housing, and help fund the conversion of existing rented homes into affordable social housing.

ucl.ac.ukTaking back control of rentsAuthored by Beth Stratford and Joe Beswick

Only 20% of renters actually live in one of those single-property lets, while half of all renters in England are renting from a landlord who owns 5 or more properties. Meaning: most tenants aren't renting from a single-property landlord.

11 Sept

Closing soon! Our Product Lead role shuts 10am Mon 14 Sept. 2 days/wk, remote, non-hierarchical team at DCC working on tools like: LandExplorer, Mykomaps, Cooperative World Map & the Data for Housing Justice project. £26.10/hr. Apply: digitalcommons.coop/we-are-recru...

8 Sept

Last few days to apply: our friends at Shared Assets are looking for their next leader. They are looking for strategic vision, small-org experience, and fresh thinking on UK land justice. More: sharedassets.org.uk/open-positions/an-invitation-to-lead-shared-assets-cic

3 Sept

Still time to apply! We're recruiting a Product Lead to join our team at Digital Commons Co-op. 2 days/week, fully remote, non-hierarchical team. £26.10/hour. Applications close 10am, Monday 14 September. Full details and how to apply: digitalcommons.coop/we-are-recru...

31 Aug

Coming soon to LandExplorer: search any proprietor and see every property tied to their name and then scrub back through the years to watch how their holdings have changed over time. LX is free and you can sign up to our solidarity tier to help shape future features! landexplorer.coop/

28 Aug

We're recruiting a Product Lead! We build tools like LandExplorer, Mykomaps, Cooperative World Map & Data for Housing Justice with and for social movements. 2 days/wk, remote, non-hierarchical. £26.10/hr. Apply by 14 Sept: digitalcommons.coop/we-are-recru...

26 Aug

The Cooperative World Map has been refreshed: fresh data up to early May 2026, now translated into Spanish, Hindi and French, plus a batch of bug fixes for smoother browsing. Check it out: worldmap.coop

19 Aug

Our recent LandExplorer crowdfunder raised £9,210 against an £8,000 goal: thank you to everyone who backed us. That funds the next phase of the tool's development. For full results, a translated Cooperative World Map, and more, sign up to our newsletter here: digitalcommons.coop/contact

17 Aug

From March to July we ran workshops with housing organisers investigating rent extraction: corporate landlords, unlicensed lettings, university-owned rentals and more. They left with new skills in ownership research, company data, FOI requests, and turning findings into organising stories.

digitalcommons.coopContact UsGet in contact with us: hello@digitalcommons.coop

17 Aug

If you're interested in joining future workshops, or learning to use tools like LandExplorer to trace who owns land and property, make sure to sign up to our newsletter:

4 Aug

💚 Thanks again to everyone who supported us. From people like Andres, Chelsea, Dan, Laurie, Maja, Nemone, Sam and Stuart, to everyone who backed a book, a report, or a year of Solidarity Tier access, your support is helping us rebuild LandExplorer. Thank you. 💚

We did it!! 🎉 The LandExplorer crowdfunder closed yesterday and we raised £9,140, which is £1,140 over our original goal. Thank you to every single person who backed it, shared it, or forwarded it to someone who would find the tool useful.

✅ A relaunch later this year with a refreshed interface designed for the communities who use it most Backers will have a direct say in which features we prioritise first and we'll be in touch about that soon.

And if your organisation wants ongoing access to every new feature when we relaunch, the solidarity tier is still open. £600 (£500 + VAT) per year. Get in touch via the link in bio. Thank you for making this possible 💚

Here's what your support funds: ✅ Better search: easily find everything a single owner holds across multiple sites ✅ Updated Land Registry data: so the information you're working with is current ✅ New data layers: health, social outcomes, detailed agricultural data and more

8 July

‼️ We hit our £8,000 goal 🎉 thank you to everyone who backed us! we've set a new stretch goal of £9,500. every pound goes directly into more development time for LandExplorer. closes @ noon TODAY! crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

7 July

One day left. We've raised nearly 75% of our £8,000 goal and close tomorrow at noon. If you've been waiting, this is it! Rewards include signed books, workshops, research reports and a year's access to new features. Donate here www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer thank you!

2 July

‼️ We're in the final stretch for LandExplorer's £8,000 goal. Every contribution gives backers a say in what we build first! Lots of rewards still on offer... Closes noon 8 July. 💚 Donate here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

1 July

👉 New reward: back our crowdfunder at £120+ and get a one-year subscription to DOPE magazine: a quarterly publication about politics, art, and culture, focused on injustice + the people working to change things. www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

29 June

Big Solar Co-op use LandExplorer every day as part of their work building solar sites across the UK. We’re crowdfunding to make the tool even better. Donate here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

@guyshrubsole.bsky.social

24 June

Most people assume finding out who owns land or property requires expensive software or a solicitor. It doesn't. LandExplorer makes land ownership data across England and Wales free and searchable for anyone. Help us keep it free by backing us here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

Digital Commons Cooperative reposted

Guy Shrubsole

12 June

'Land Explorer' is a great, free tool for looking up maps of corporate-owned land in England & Wales. I use it a lot for research and investigations. The team behind it are crowdfunding to make it even better in future - if you can chip in, please do so here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explo...

crowdfunder.co.ukHelp us build a better Land Explorer!LandExplorer makes it simple to find out who owns the land & buildings in your community. Help us keep it free for everyone who needs it!

16 June

🎉 NEW reward just added to our crowdfunder: Back us at £40+ and receive a signed copy of Guy Shrubsole's award-winning The Lie of the Land: an investigation into who really owns and controls the British countryside, & what we can do about it. crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

15 June

The groups doing the most important work on housing justice are rarely the ones with the biggest budgets. LandExplorer has always been free + your contribution keeps it that way and funds new features for everyone! crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

13 June

£1,500 raised in four days... thank you! 🙏 LandExplorer puts land data in the hands of people who need it: campaigners tracing landlords, communities finding out who owns that empty building, journalists following the money. Help us keep it free. crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

9 June

Our LandExplorer crowdfunder is live! Help us build new features for the free tool that lets you find out who owns the land around you. REWARDS INCLUDE: ✨ workshops! ✨ signed books! ✨ research reports! ✨ a year's access to all the new features and more! 👉 www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/land-explorer

3 June

Something we've been building toward is nearly ready. Next week we're launching a crowdfunder to refresh LandExplorer, our free tool for finding out who owns the land around you. More soon!

27 May

Who owns the UK's land? We made a quick vid showing how to use LandExplorer to find properties tied to the country's biggest landowners. Here’s how! 👀 www.instagram.com/p/DYmVms6owJ9/

21 May

Our May newsletter is out and it's a big one: we're launching a crowdfunder in June to support the next phase of LandExplorer. The free tier will stay + the paid tier will fund the work and gives better-resourced orgs API access and data exports. Supporters get a direct say in what we build first!

12 May

LandExplorer is getting refreshed data and new features this year. It'll stay free and we're adding a paid tier so the groups who can pay fund development for the groups who can't. Crowdfunder mid-2026. Full update: digitalcommons.coop/building-tools-for-change-next-steps-for-digital-commons

29 Apr

Our April newsletter is out! Here are some highlights… 🏘️ A new housing justice newsletter from our partners at Shared Assets 🔍 A pro tip for using Land Explorer to map the holdings of large landowners And more... ✉️ Sign up here: digitalcommons.coop/contact/

🧑‍💻 here's how to find the holdings of some of the UK's largest landowners 👀 1. find 1 address tied to the landowner. you currently need at least one address in order to do a more in-depth search 2. go to app.landexplorer.coop/ + sign in (or register) 3. search for the addy in the search bar

5. scroll down and click on "Check other properties"

6. zoom out on the map and you should see the other properties populate across England and Wales. go to digitalcommons.coop/land-explorer/ for more

4. zoom in and click on the property. Go to the side bar and turn on “All Properties”. You should then see the owner information listed