First property logbooks register goes live

The Residential Logbook Association (RLBA) has launched the first iteration of its register, which aims to speed-up transactions and stop property fraud.

It provides the conveyancing world with direct access to a verified record of logbooks for UK addresses that conform to RLBA specifications. 

This will enable the swift exchange of data between different logbook companies, as well as supporting the fight against property fraud as it will be clear to conveyancers and estate agents who a home belongs to.

The Register of Logbooks can show if an address has a verified logbook, provide the supplier name and flag if the logbook holds any of the data products that an agency or conveyancer might want to download such as a property pack or specific documentation such as a leaseholder deed of certificate, which have all been included in the RLBA data standards.

Currently, the register only lists logbooks that have been through the conveyancing process, and which have been listed directly by conveyancers. 

However, a future release will include logbooks set up outside the buying and selling process, which includes digital ID verification tools in its account set up.

RLBA director Simon Lumb, said: “Ensuring logbooks can show verified ID and property ownership is a key component of the register, hence the current limit to conveyancer listed logbooks. As the digital mechanisms for linking personal ID to property ID are confirmed we will widen the criteria for listing.”

An immediate use will be supporting the recent update to the Buying and Selling Property Information (BASPI) form, which requires vendors to confirm if a property logbook is available.

Linking to the register will automatically complete the relevant fields for digital versions of the BASPI.

Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association (CA), said “The CA has always been supportive of Property Logbooks, as long as it i clear there is only one per property. The RLBA Register enables us to ensure that digitally.”

The next upgrade in the third quarter of 2023 will enable the direct download of the data and documents from these data products, from a logbook to the estate agent or law firm’s CRM system, via the RLBA data hub.

Rudolf added “Seeing the beginning of the Register of Property Logbooks is an exciting moment as it will eventually enable logbooks to act as a digital version of the paper deeds packets. These previously saved a huge amount of time as they collated all the important information in one place. To have that available digitally and able to be pulled into case management software will be the icing on the cake.”

It fulfils a commitment made when the RLBA was setup to make such a register accessible via estate agent and conveyancer systems.

The current register API has been opened up to a first wave of proptech apps including Moverley and adoor who have incorporated the BASPI into their systems and will use the link to the register to auto-fill the BASPI questions relating to logbooks.

Ed Molyneux, co-founder Moverly, said: “It's only by working together collaboratively, using digital logbooks to store and pass on information from homeowner to homeowner, that we can hope to achieve a real transformation. It's long overdue.”