On 9 February, the government announced its intention to modernise the process of buying and selling homes, aimed at making transactions quicker and cheaper while reducing the number that fall through.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government identified “a lack of digitalisation and join up in the sector” as a key reason for delays, setting out proposals to facilitate information-sharing and progress digital identity services. It highlighted areas where data remains mainly paper-based or only available in formats unreadable by machines, such as building control and highways information.

The government has consequently started a 12-week project with the property sector and HM Land Registry to design and implement rules on data-sharing between the parties involved in property transactions. The government also announced that HM Land Registry would lead 10-month pilots with selected local authorities to determine how best to digitise data and increase its availability.

The prospect of quicker and cheaper property transactions sounds attractive. However, we must consider what experience tells us about the possible role of digitalisation and the potential risks while also asking ourselves whether we are pursuing the right goal.

A place for digitalisation but not a panacea
These proposals may not come as a surprise. The government has set out a clear intention to facilitate home ownership. The conveyancing process forms part of that wider agenda, and the timescales and costs involved have been subject to scrutiny for many years. At a time when the use of technology dominates business strategies, it is natural that we look to the role that digitalisation can play in facilitating transactions.