The National Register of Property Logbooks: An appraisal

The benefits of homeowners having a Property Logbook have been canvassed for some time. This article looks at the expansion of the national register of property logbooks and considers the benefits this will bring.

What is the present position?

We are all accustomed to the concept of a logbook for any form of motor vehicle. Such logbooks are an essential element in the sale and purchase of a car, containing the service history and all relevant data which a prospective purchaser would wish to see prior to completing her/his purchase.

The benefits of having such a record, whether held in paper format or, indeed, digitally, are considerable. Easy access to such information means that there is no searching around for random pieces of paper, and everyone knows that a logbook should be kept in a safe place.

In the case of residential property, however, we are still in the proverbial Stone Age. Too often, important guarantees, warranties, and other material is not available at the point of sale. This can lead to delays and frustration and, on occasion, a reduction in the price which the purchaser is prepared to pay.

The Residential Property Logbook Association

The Residential Logbook Association is the DLUHC-supported trade body for companies providing digital logbooks for the residential property market. A Property Logbook is a “digital companion” for homes.

RLBA members are providers of logbook systems and services who work closely with all organisations in the residential property market who require access to validated property data.

RLBA’s objective is for all residential property transactions to eventually be supported by a regulated residential logbook – the key word in that sentence being “regulated”. In March this year, the RLBA announced the launch of its Register of Logbooks which is accessible via estate agent and conveyancer systems.

Use of Digital Logbooks to assist retrofitting of privately rented homes

This week saw an announcement of another enhancement to the national register of digital property logbooks. The RLBA has revealed that it is part of a consortium that has won a government grant to explore how technology can be used to speed up the retrofitting of the nation’s five million-plus privately rented homes to comply with changes to the Energy Performance Certificate rules.

The consortium, which includes the Energy Saving Trust, Trustmark, and the Coventry Building Society, is part of a push to see all rented properties in the UK reach a minimum EPC C rating by between 2026 and 2028. In other words, for the EPC system to have “teeth” so that rented properties perform efficiently for the benefit of tenants.

The onus will soon be falling on agents and landlords to begin preparing the project work to ensure properties comply with higher EPC ratings. Financed via the Government’s Green Homes Finance Accelerator, the consortium will look at ways of “joining the dots” digitally to make it easier, simpler and faster for landlords and agents to complete the necessary upgrade work.

Specifically, work carried out during approved retrofit work on properties will be shared via digital logbooks with the different players within the sector including lenders, the Home Buying & Selling Group and The Lettings Industry Council. These logbooks will be held in the national register.

So, what next?

The announcement of the grant awarded to the consortium involving the RLBA is an important step towards property logbooks becoming used more widely in the UK. It is important that these logbooks be held in the national register so that they can be accessed and updated along with changes to the property. As mentioned above, the register already exists and members of the RLBA are uploading validated property logbooks to it.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) recently announced the formation of a Digital Property Market Steering Group to try to make the home moving process more positive for everyone involved.

The objective of the Group is to collaboratively build on existing progress across the home buying and selling system, including the solutions developed by the Home Buying and Selling Group for Upfront Information, Property Logbooks, and Property Data Trust Framework, and collaboratively find ways to make improvements.

That is a laudable objective. I suggest that an “early win” for the Group would be to build on the excellent work done to date by the RLBA and avoid re-inventing the wheel as it were. RLBA have already carried out the necessary groundwork, is operating the national register, and, as a trade body, it speaks for its members – the very companies who provide validated residential property logbooks.

Thereafter, it is suggested that the next step is for a legislative structure to be put in place so as to oblige sellers to make information on their property available upfront and to keep their logbook up to date.

We have all grown accustomed to operating in the world of caveat emptor. It is fairly obvious that the balance of power in contracts involving the sale and purchase of land and property has swung far too far in favour of the seller, however, with prospective buyers being obliged to satisfy themselves fully before a contract can be concluded.

Sellers often give little or no warranties and all the onus is placed on the buyer at an early stage in the process, thus increasing the pressure on conveyancers. This can lead to unfairness and almost always leads to delay in agreeing a final contract of sale.

I suggest that the time has come for legislation to provide for vendor disclosure. While some may say that legislative intervention in a free market process should be avoided, the benefits of so doing must surely outweigh the potential downside. It is time to create a level playing field. We should learn from the failed attempts to improve the process in the past and seek to introduce improvements to the system which will benefit us all – as we are all buyers and sellers ourselves at some point in time.

It is time for change. Government will, quite rightly, be looking for solutions from the industry and we should endeavour to assist in this regard. There are cost savings to be made in the home moving process and these savings need not necessarily be solely in relation to the fees which solicitors and licensed conveyancers charge.

Article written Professor Stewart Brymer of the University of Dundee and the Scottish Conveyancers Forum. He is a participants in the Home Buying & Selling Group.

The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author.