This will include shared property data between professionals and plans for introducing digital identity services.
It said one of the main hindrances to the home buying and selling process was a lack of digitalisation and join up in the sector.
The Government said its plans would give people certainty during property transactions and reduce the likelihood of unpredictable information being revealed later on in the process.
It is also expected to make it easier for people to buy a home, reduce the need to share ID in person in the long term and minimise fall-throughs.
Data such as building control and highways information is mostly paper-based or recorded on non-machine-readable formats. Additionally, there are no agreed practices for accessing, sharing and verifying data that is shared digitally.
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The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and HM Land Registry (HMLR) have announced a 12-week project to identify the development and implementation of agreed rules on data for the sector, so it can be easily shared between conveyancers, lenders and other parties.
HMLR will continue working on digitising property information and lead 10-month pilots with councils to work out the best approach to its plans. The Government will also work on plans for digital identity verification services.
This will be done in partnership with the Digital Property Market Steering Group.
Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, said: “We are streamlining the cumbersome home buying process so that it is fit for the 21st century, helping homebuyers save money, gain time and reduce stress while also cutting the number of house sales that fall through.
“Our modernisation of the system sits alongside further reforms to improve the lives of leasehold homeowners across the country, allowing them to more easily and cheaply take control of the buildings they live in and clamp down on unreasonable or extortionate charges.”
Pennycook continued: “These reforms build on the Government’s Plan for Change to deliver higher living standards and 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament, and our ongoing efforts to protect leaseholders suffering from unfair and unreasonable practices as we work to end the feudal leasehold system for good.”
Government has ‘identified the scale of the issue’
Maria Harris, chair of Open Property Data Association (OPDA), said: “This is a significant step forward in the modernisation of the home buying and selling process. The Government’s commitment to streamlining transactions through digital property data will help create a more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective system for all, especially consumers.
“At OPDA, we have long advocated for smart, secure, and trusted data to be at the heart of this transformation, and we welcome this recognition of its importance.
“We are grateful to our members and supporters, particularly those who have worked tirelessly to develop open data standards and demonstrate their value in practice. This progress would not have been possible without their dedication.”
Joe Pepper, UK chief executive at Pexa, said: “For too long, our disjointed, fragmented and inefficient property transaction process has caused economic damage and harmed consumer outcomes. This announcement is proof that the Government has identified the scale of the issue, and has begun to grasp the nettle.
“Digitisation of data will go some way to breaking down the silos and speeding up access to data required to deliver a more streamlined process. But it’s a broad spectrum, and fundamentally we need a common way of sharing that data and managing the workflow, to allow conveyancers to do their job effectively without getting caught up in red tape and being forced to move at the pace of the slowest professional in the process.
“Driving positive change in the transaction process is fundamental to the Government delivering against its ambitious homeownership targets, and we welcome this initiative as an important first step.”
Leaseholders given greater Right to Manage protections
It was also announced that secondary legislation for Right to Manage measures proposed in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 would be revealed ahead of the Government’s schedule.
The changes will come into force on 3 March and give leaseholders more control over their buildings. This will give them a say on how service charges are spent and remove the requirement for leaseholders to cover the legal fees of their freeholder when making a Right to Manage claim.
The Government said this could potentially save leaseholders up to £3,000 for the most costly claims and lessens the incentive for landlords to block the process.
This article was first published on YourMoney.com‘s sister site, Mortgage Solutions. Read: Govt announces modernised house transactions and Right to Manage leasehold policy
