Who lived in my house before me?

First, work out the old address

Every search depends on knowing how your house was described at the time. Historic England warns that street numbers, and often street names, may have changed, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A house now at number 30 may have had another number, or only a name.

Old maps can show you what a street looked like at a given date, and how old is my house? explains how to use them. There is also no point searching before the house existed, so it helps to settle its age first.

Who lived in my house in 1939?

The 1939 Register is the best single answer to this question. It was taken on 29 September 1939, just after the Second World War began, to produce identity cards and ration books. It lists around 40 million people in England and Wales.

According to The National Archives, you can search it by address on Findmypast and Ancestry, both of which charge. You can also view it free in the reading rooms at The National Archives in Kew.

Some entries are hidden. Individual records stay closed for 100 years from the person's date of birth, or until there is proof of death. If a household shows blank lines, that is why. Military personnel were generally not recorded either, so the list may not show everyone connected with the house.

Census returns from 1841 to 1921

Censuses were taken every ten years, and you can search by address to see who was living there on census night. They are the main route to households before 1939.

Later censuses stay closed for 100 years, which leaves the 1939 Register as the main record of that period.

Electoral registers

Electoral registers can fill the years between the big records, because they have been produced annually since 1832, with a few exceptions. They come with some limits: they list only people entitled to vote, so early registers leave out many residents, and the property through which someone qualified to vote is not always their home.

The National Archives does not hold a complete set. The British Library holds a complete set from 1947 onwards, and local reference libraries and archives hold registers for their own areas. The National Library of Wales and National Library of Scotland cover their own countries. Some are on Ancestry and Findmypast.

Local archives

For anything more, go to the archive for the area, using Find an archive. The National Archives says you will almost certainly need to contact, and probably visit, several archives to piece together a full history. Useful records include:

• The Valuation Office Survey of 1910 to 1915, which can reveal owners, occupiers and tenancy details, and sometimes how rooms were used.
• Tithe apportionments from 1836, which give clues about ownership and occupancy.
• Family and estate papers, if the house was part of a larger estate.
• Wills and title deeds, which Historic England suggests for occupants and owners.

Local history societies and county record offices can tell you what survives for your street. For a wider view of a property's past, see how to check house history.

More recent occupants, and privacy

The closer you get to the present, the less you can find, and that is deliberate. Closure periods protect people who may still be alive. These records are suited to history, and we would not use them to trace or approach anyone living, or their families.

A Doorstep Report does not name past occupants or owners. The title register names the current owner, who may not be the person who lives there, and the ownership guide explains that route. If you want owners rather than residents, see finding previous owners.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The 1939 Register at The National Archives covers England and Wales only. National Records of Scotland holds the Scottish register, and says you can request the details of someone who has since died. The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland holds the Northern Ireland register. Scottish censuses from 1841 to 1921 are on ScotlandsPeople, which is a paid service. In Ireland few 19th-century returns survive, though 1901 and 1911 are free on the National Archives of Ireland website.