How to Find Out Who Owns a Rental Property

Use the Internet or a local phone book to contact your county assessor.
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Property ownership listings are public records available to everyone, which means you shouldn't have much trouble finding out who owns a rental property. Simply have the address in question ready. You won't usually need any other information. If the an employee at the assessor's office wants a specific reason for your request you can oblige the assessor's staff if you want, or you can remind him you have no obligation to do so as the records are public.

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Step 1

Visit your county assessor's website. You can search for an assessor's website by going to your county government's homepage, or by typing your county's name, such as "King County," followed by "assessor's office," all without quotation marks, into a search engine. Make sure you get the website for your county rather than a county in another state with the same name.

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Step 2

Follow the instructions on the assessor's website to submit your public records request. These websites vary from county to county, so there is no universal process. If your county has a form for specifically requesting this kind of information, use it. Otherwise, use their general "contact us" form or look for a contact telephone number.

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Step 3

Look up the county assessor's telephone number in the phone book as an alternative to using the Internet. To find the number look in the governmental listings under "county" or "assessor." If you can't find it, call the general county phone number to get the specific assessor's office number.

Tip

Louisiana calls its counties “parishes,” and Alaska calls its counties “boroughs.” Use those words instead if you need information for a property in one of these states.

If you want information on a property in which you reside as a tenant, ask your property manager if you feel comfortable doing so. Often, the property manager will tell you and provide you with any contact information you need.

Sometimes, property owners try to hide themselves by listing a company as the property owner. When this happens, try contacting that company to get the individual person’s name. If the company won’t cooperate or if it gives you the name of yet another company, consider hiring an investigator to find the information for you.

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