Those with long memories may recall the ill-fated attempt by Land Registry in about 2006/7 to create a digital ‘chain matrix’ that would enable solicitors, conveyancers, lenders and estate agents to share and update information in the home buying process.
Estate agents were very quickly excluded from any meaningful participation in the project when it was deemed that they could not possibly be trusted with access to such a powerful repository of information and certainly could not be allowed to add to or alter the records. In the end the project stalled anyway.
Now it looks as if something similar is under way.
Launched without much razzamataz or high-profile publicity, Land Registry has just announced that the ‘Digital Property Market Steering Group’ has been formed ‘to drive crucial digital transformation in the land and property market’. Who knew?
Apparently it is, ‘An important coming together of key industry partners under a shared vision at a pivotal time for the property market.’
One industry body – apparently excluded from the new group – has already branded the announcement as, ‘bizarre’.
The Land Registry said in its announcement:
It is more than 20 years since the Land Registration Act 2002 was introduced with the hope that ‘e-conveyancing’, which it enabled in law, would deliver these kinds of benefits. There has been some progress since then but the job of modernising the process has proved more challenging than envisaged and one that no single institution can achieve on its own.
That’s the view of a newly formed coalition of government and industry partners – the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) – representing an important coming together of key industry partners under a shared vision at a pivotal time for the property market.
The group’s purpose is to help the property market work better for all by accelerating the adoption of digital technology, while ensuring it is transparent, secure and consumer friendly, through collaboration and innovation across the sector.
DPMSG has representation from key areas of the sector where there is likely to be the greatest potential for accelerated digital adoption. This includes legal property professionals, surveyors, conveyancers, lenders and estate agents.
DPMSG founding members:
Law Society
Conveyancing Association (CA)
Council for Licensed Conveyancers
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX)
CILEx Regulation
Council of Property Search Organisations
Propertymark
Building Societies Association
UK Finance
HM Land Registry
DPMSG vision
We want everyone involved in buying, leasing and selling land and property to experience a secure and modern market that is transparent, customer-friendly and business-friendly at all stages.
Through collaboration, innovation and a focus on emerging digital technologies we will build on existing progress across the home buying and selling system to get a better result for the customer: simpler, faster, more certain and less stressful.
Lubna Shuja, President of the Law Society of England and Wales said:
The Law Society is committed to improving the home-buying experience for consumers and others involved in the conveyancing process. Whilst we know that chains of transactions can lengthen timescales, involving sellers’ solicitors at an early stage would make the process smoother and more efficient.
Although there is no silver bullet, digitisation will be transformative in this work, especially in relation to ID, digital deeds, digital registration, and providing important information to consumers about both the process and the property at an early stage.
We recognise that the combined efforts of the whole sector – regulators, professional and trade bodies, and government – are needed to achieve this. This new group provides a forum for collaboration and achieving change, while enabling individual members to progress their own work in a co-ordinated way.
Nicky Heathcote, Non-Executive Chair at the Conveyancing Association, said:
At the CA, we want to boost confidence and investment in the digitisation of the property market by demonstrating how Government and industry regulators, professional and trade bodies are aligned and committed to working together to enable and accelerate positive change.
There are four DPMSG working groups that will focus on:
- Public commitment: Joint conference on Digital Property Market in 2023
- Removing barriers and empower members to drive change: Upfront information
- Research and Development: Embracing digital identity
- Increasing transparency: Advocating for data initiatives – exploring interoperability
DPMSG will hold a joint Government and industry launch event with the theme Digital Property Market in London on 12 September 2023. It will bring together leaders and influencers from across the sector to set a clear direction for a secure and modern land and property market, explore the barriers to change and demonstrate joint leadership and commitment among participants to taking forward this programme of transformation.
Around 300 invited guests will attend from across the property market sectors including estate agents, surveyors, conveyancers, financial, software providers, data providers, panel managers, Proptech and other groups key to driving change. HM Land Registry, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Geospatial Commission officials will also attend. Those participating will share insights on social media using #DigitalPropertyMarket.
DPMSG will also soon launch a new podcast series – Property with a View – hosted by Mike Harlow, HM Land Registry’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Customer and Strategy. Mike will speak with leaders across the sector as a way of exploring what changes need to happen and how the market can work together to achieve them. The programme of content will feature leaders from all corners of the industry.
But at least one interested body is unimpressed. Nigel Walley, chair of the Residential Logbook Association told EYE:
“This bizarre announcement raises more questions than it answers. Firstly, it’s unclear how this group differs from the HBSG [Home Buying and Selling Group] in its aims and objectives or if it is intended to replace it? This might explain why so many HBSG workgroups have disappeared without explanation, but most participants of the HBSG have been left in the dark. Its also unclear how this organisation relates to all the previous ‘digital reviews’ conducted by HMLR that, with the exception of ‘Digital Street’, have failed to put any reports into the public domain or impact policy.
“More importantly, the group contains no representatives of the tech companies and potentially transformative organisations who are delivering the most interesting digital solutions into the industry.
“There is no representation from the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) who have done so much to deliver the Property Data Trust Framework; there is no representation from Legal Software Suppliers Association (LSSA) or the case management companies on whose tech platforms the digitisation is going to be delivered; there is no representation for all the smaller tech companies who are actually involved in the launch of Upfront Information products; and there is no RLBA representation for all the Property Logbook companies who are attempting to deliver a new ‘homeowner-centric’ model of buying & selling. So none of the companies that would have to deliver a digital buying & selling process are represented?
“Finally, in its emphasis on ‘upfront information’ (UFI) as a solution to be pursued, it has effectively ruled on potential outcomes from its research activity even as significant questions are being asked about the importance of UFI in the broader sweep of new initiatives required to digitise conveyancing. There is growing awareness that we need a ‘whole lifecycle’ approach to digital property data and that UFI is only one, small component.
“So, we are not sure that this announcement advances the cause of digital property transformation in any meaningful way.”
EYE would be very interested to hear what readers think of this news.
I don’t think “bizarre” is appropriate. Presumably one of the committees will be talking to the tech sector to see if they can deliver the process that is ultimately agreed (should that happen).
The issue with estate agents previously was that they aren’t regulated or licensed. Anyone can set up as an estate agent. I suspect a willingness to be regulated and licensed would be required.
The President of The Law Society has set out clearly that bringing the involvement of Solicitors and conveyancers forward in the process would assist.
What would also help is recognising that conveyancing involves thinking and those who attempt to replace thinking with tech driven processes usually offer the worst service.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Isn’t this Coadjute’s speciality?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
That’s what I was thinking too! Why aren’t Coadjute involved?
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Nigel makes some good points.
There are a lot of ‘heavyweight’ organisations included as founding members. Some are more nimble than others when it comes to decision making and making changes.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
The vast majority of the founding members listed in the press release are people I would not want to be within a million miles of any conveyancing improvements. Basically because they are part of the overall problems.
Most significantly there is one group of people totally forgotten in terms of being asked their opinions and input – frontline conveyancers. So we needn’t expect, nor should our long suffering clients, there to be any significant improvements/solutions anytime soon.
The conveyancing process is as good as broken. There are far, far more important and pressing issues to be looked at urgently rather than digitisation of the property market.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
100% agree. My heart sank as I read the list of those involved in this process, especially the Law Society. These organisations are too cumbersome to make swift decisions and take swift action.
Plus, where are the representatives of the front line estate agents?! Actual estate agents, not just Propertymark. Those that are at the coal face of property selling. We need a strong voice from estate agency and from front line conveyancing. These are the folk that see the issues day in and day out – and usually know how we should all be moving forward to fix them, enabled by digitisation from tech folks who know what they are doing, such as Coadjute. This is the solution we need!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I was really hoping to see meaningful change in this area in my lifetime, but I am beginning to lose hope. How many more groups need to be formed to discuss the SAME problems over and over again? Investing and innovating in this marketplace is soul-destroying because the Government has no appetite to formulate a long-term plan and if they did it would probably be scrapped by an incoming regime. Laisez-faire economics at its ‘best’ where hundreds of firms in what amounts to a cottage industry try to change the world whilst consumers of products remain on the fence waiting for change…..Ho hum, it’s Thursday.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Yep, another group formed to go over the same old ground that many groups past and present have gone over before!
We need ACTION, not more talk!
Let’s get this sorted once and for all! Let’s start by getting a decent Housing Minister in who knows what they are doing, is trusted by and backed by the industry, and is in the seat for the long-term!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Commentator91 is absolutely correct and I have mentioned this in the past. There will be no change without political will and the current government party has shown a massive lack of respect to the housing industry with the constant turnover of housing ministers!
This will end up being another talking shop which will make ac few small tweaks around the edges with an intent to maintain the status quo.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for change unless somewhere with real power eg a government minister got this lot together and banged some heads together!
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
This is a bizarre step by the government & Land Reg. The HBSG has been very active within this space- both in encouraging the adoption of digital but also in practical suggestions such as upfront info. Whilst it’s great to see Propertymark in the group, just one representative of agents Vs 7 on the conveyancing side is concerning. What is more, not a single reputable tech entity or consultant is involved either. There is therefore a huge risk that any developments made will lack practical application for agents and could be severely wanting from a tech perspective.The biggest things gov can do here to move the needle are:Make UPRN access completely free- regardless of purpose & scaleStart mandating that key data must be digitised and available via a secure APICreate a framework to ‘connect the dots’ and then get out the way and let savvy tech solve the problems
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register