Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Matthew Pennycook MP has written to the Chair of HM Land Registry Board to outline the government’s expectations for the body as it ramps up activity to deliver on its manifesto promise of 1.5m new homes in this Parliament.
In a letter to Neil Sachdev, Chair of HMLR board, Pennycook outlined a series of key objectives for the agency over the next 12 months.
Acknowledging the role of HMLR during COVID-19 and its subsequent impact Pennycook says he recognised ‘the performance improvements that HMLR has made in recent years, especially given the significant challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,’ adding he looked forward to seeing further progress. HMLR plays a pivotal role in the government’s plan for change, he goes on to say, adding the government would like to work more closely with HMLR to enhance its contribution and most effectively support their ambitions.
Modernising the home buying and selling process
Government have already outlined their plans to modernise the home buying and selling process, integral to which is the continued digitisation of HMLR services. The letter outlines expectations HMLR will deliver on the ongoing Local Land Charges programme and create a ‘geospatial, fully digital and interoperable Land Register’ which in turn will help with the digitisation of the home moving process. It is understood HMLR will continue to contribute and partner with stakeholders through the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG).
In order to achieve greater digitisation Pennycook goes on to say the agency must overcome ‘legacy issues’ and open up existing data and information on land, lowering barriers to access and improving the ability to map and more widely share data. He uses the example of linking title numbers with INSPIRE IDs and Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRN) to better enable the interrogation of data. Critically, doing so suggests Pennycook could ‘maximise the public value’ of the information HMLR holds.
Greater Transparency
Given the challenges associated with money laundering and proposed reforms to leasehold, Pennycook places emphasis on the ‘rapid design and delivery’ of systems required to create greater transparency of land ownership and control. HMLR will be responsible, he says, ‘for designing, implementing, running, and improving a service that will meet the needs of users providing and accessing the database,’ adding the work would also require greater efforts to register the outstanding c.11% of land currently unregistered in England and Wales.
Despite a first increase in fees for over 10 years in December HMLR have been tasked with restructuring their charging model, focusing on ‘increasing the ease of doing business in the property market and providing a simple and efficient customer experience.’ In a nod to calls for more information to be made available up front in a transaction, Pennycook adds HMLR must prioritise access to data for free and minimising cost where possible, while balancing the need to create revenues to operate and invest in modernisation.
Concluding, Pennycook says HMLR is expected to support the Government’s leasehold reform plans and provide expertise on potential next steps, and updated land registration to make commonhold the default tenure for new build flats.
Responding to the letter, Neil Sachdev said HMLR welcomed recognition of its ‘foundational’ role in the economy, committed its support to continued reform, and outlined plans for the agency to deliver on programmes already underway including
- Digitising 36 local authorities’ LLC data over then next 12 months
- Start/complete the MHCLG local authority property data pilots
- Introduce AI-driven services to support casework and improve efficiency
- Implement a new digital ID standard under DSIT’s Data (Use and Access) Bill
- Enhance public access to property data
Sachdev added he felt there was real momentum behind the modernisation agenda with progress on open data standards, digital ID, electronic signatures, and greater data accessibility, concluding, ‘we have a unique opportunity to make meaningful progress over the coming year.’
Matthew Pennycook MP’s HM Land Registry Chair’s letter is available to review in full here.
Chair of HMLR board Neil Sachdev response is here
