Homeowners will be given direct access to their own Land Registry data as part of a 12-month digital property logbook trial set to begin this month.
The trial, which has been coordinated by the Residential Logbook Association (RLBA), will explore how homeowners can securely access the data, with participating logbook providers encouraged to explore innovative ways to present and explain register data to homeowners.
Participating consumers will be chosen among those who are planning to sell their property as well as those who have recently purchased.
The trial will focus on providing access to the data contained in the HMLR title register of a property, made available securely via API to participating RLBA‑registered logbook providers, and presented to homeowners in a consumer‑friendly format.
The trial does not change the legal home buying and selling process, and whilst the fee to access the data will be waived for the purposes of the pilot, official copies of the title register will still be required for transactions.
Only the homeowner and professionals they explicitly authorise will be able to access the data held within their digital logbook. Data access will be controlled, secure and governed by existing identity and access checks and Nigel Walley, RLBA chair, stressed the logbook companies would not have access to data.
He explained: “Our logbooks are merely the tools that homeowners will be using to unlock their own data in a secure format. But this is part of our broader mission to unlock all publicly held property data for homeowners.”
The trial is not intended to be permanent but to generate a proof of concept case to generate evidence and learning. Any future decisions about wider rollout will be informed by the outcomes of the trial and government policy decisions.
Four RLBA‑registered logbook providers are expected to take part, with estimated requests for register data expected to reach up to 2,500.
Success will be measured through the engagement of the participating homeowners, along with usability insights, evidence of earlier data corrections and indicative impacts on transaction efficiency. Feedback from industry stakeholders will also be taken into account.
Terry Robertson, deputy director of strategy at HMLR said: “Buying or selling a home is one of the most important transactions people make, and having clear, reliable information at the right time really matters.
“HM Land Registry’s Strategy 2025+ puts the customer at the heart of everything we do, and supporting this proof of concept allows us to learn how homeowners could securely access their Land Registry data earlier and use it with confidence – so they can spot issues sooner and be better prepared when they come to sell.”
Sally Holdway, buying and selling lead for the RLBA, said: “We believe we can reduce the number of transactions that fall-through because of incorrect or out of date information held by HMLR, for example because details have changed since the last time the property transacted.
“Giving sellers early sight of their data and helping them to correct mistakes will significantly reduce problems further down the line during a sale.”
The proof of concept builds on the RLBA’s ‘self-sovereign’ policy for property data, which seeks to give the homeowner access and control of all their property data, regardless of where or by whom it is held. It also builds on the policy of treating a verified logbook as an ID, with the National Logbook Register verifying the participating logbook is owned by a verified owner.
Findings from the trial will be evaluated to help HMLR, industry and government understand how Land Registry data could feature in future digital property logbook services.
