UK Government Housing Reform: ‘Fit for 21st century’: UK to digitise property sales for faster transactions

The UK government is planning to digitise property sales data to speed up home purchases and reduce delays, The Guardian reports.
A 12-week initiative has been launched to create standardised rules for data sharing among conveyancers, lenders, and others involved in transactions.
Currently, much of the process relies on paper documents or outdated systems, causing delays. The changes aim to improve information sharing and make the process more efficient.
“We are streamlining the cumbersome homebuying 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,” housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook was quoted as saying, according to The Guardian.
The initiative is part of a wider housing reform plan, including changes to planning rules, building 1.5 million homes, and leasehold reforms.
Long homebuying process in UK
Buying a home in the UK typically takes months, with delays caused by conveyancing, property searches, and document retrieval.
According to Rightmove, the UK’s largest online real estate portal, it takes an average of five months from offer acceptance to moving in.
Rightmove CEO Johan Svanstrom explained that this follows an initial two-month period for property selection and offer agreement. He added: “The current process also contributes to an average of more than one in five home sales falling through, and hopefully a better process can help reduce this as well.”
The ministry of housing, communities and local government says full digitalisation will allow instant access to information for mortgage providers and surveyors, with single identity verification.
Right now, important documents like building control and highways records are mostly on paper. Delays also happen because there are no standardised protocols for accessing and verifying electronic data.
To improve this, the ministry is working with HM Land Registry (HMLR) and experts from the Digital Property Market Steering Group.
HMLR will lead 10-month pilot projects with councils to test digital data sharing. Plans also include digital identity verification to speed up transactions.
New leasehold legislation taking effect on March 3 will give leaseholders more control over service charge costs and remove their obligation to pay freeholder legal fees for right-to-manage claims.
These changes could save leaseholders up to £3,000 on legal costs and reduce landlord obstruction tactics.
Pennycook said the reforms will help leaseholders “more easily and cheaply take control of the buildings they live in and clamp down on unreasonable or extortionate charges.”