Housing: Sales
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital property logbooks under home buying and selling reforms on the a) privacy and b) security of homeowners’ data.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
The home buying and selling reform roadmap, which can be found on gov.uk here, sets out an ambitious package of reform for the sector including improving upfront information in listings and through the introduction of sales packs, introducing binding contracts. and professionalising property agents.
We recognise the central importance of privacy and security for data held in digital logbooks. In the roadmap, we set out that we will work with the property technology industry and other technology specialists to ensure our plans incorporate robust technology and digital security systems. We will work with representatives and regulatory bodies to set an agreed level of digital security that these products must meet.
The requirement to use digital logbooks in transactions for certain government home ownership schemes will begin in 2027. We will introduce legislation to mandate the use of these products when Parliamentary time allows.
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