UK Digital Logbooks - Mandate

As a Property Developer you should know, it is only a matter of time before the handover of building information will have to be done digitally and this will also benefit the Home Buyer too.

The Residential Logbook Association (RLBA) and SHEDyt are of the opinion that paper documentation will cease to exist in a few years for House Builders .

Digital building Logbooks like Chimni are increasingly being mandated by Governments across Europe and the United Kingdom is bound to follow. In France and Belgium, they are already required for all New-Build properties and for any existing property that has had significant refurbishment. A vendor can not sell a home without a Digital LogBook and the UK did try something similar before with the HIP (Home Information Pack) before they were shelved by Her Majesty's Government! Legislation is currently going through the Irish parliament to follow suit and other countries addressing it as a policy priority this year too, could the United Kingdom be one of them?

Why Are Governments Requiring Logbooks?

The core principle behind Logbooks in the UK and Europe is that ‘every home should have a secure, digital record of all information, certification and documentation’. Building on this is an objective that the Logbook should have digital access to all key information held on public and commercial servers. These principles were established in discussions in which the UK was represented by providers trade body, the Residential Logbook Association (RLBA). These agreements led to the UK Government's recent trials with Logbooks for homes bought under one of the Key Workers First Homes Scheme.

Across Europe, Home Logbooks are viewed as supporting a wide range of Government policies around efficiency and sustainability. These include policies around the digitisation of property data, the introduction of materials records and circularity plans and the drive for NetZero Retrofit. The recent EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive specifically calls for Digital Property Logbooks for all properties (Residential + Commercial) and requests that information like EPC data be made available digitally.

For New-Build House Builders there is recognition of the growing regulatory burden and the need to pass on an increasing amount of digitised information to a buyer. Some Log-Books such as Chimni go further and understand that, for the New-Build House Builders, data and smart systems are increasingly part of the product. These Logbooks are designed to be a companion app for homeownership and long-term management.

Defining A Logbook, what is it?

Chimni is one of the UK providers, who all have different propositions and functionality. Not all focus on both NewBuild and others work on existing homes. But while the UK Government has been slower out of the blocks towards mandating them, some key principles on Logbook definition have been adopted across Europe and by the Logbook industry; These have been codified for the UK Government by the RLBA and these six (6) principles are:

1. A verified logbook should have the right of digital access to all information held on public sector and commercial servers about that property - covering Land Registry and EPC data through to Smart Meter and Utility data. (This is still a work in progress but the Department for Business and Trade’s Smart Data Council work should move this on.)

2. The Logbook will become a 21C digital ‘deed’, with ownership of the Logbook acting as a Digital ID that links to proof of ownership and ‘right of access’ to data when accessing information online. As the conveyancing process is slowly digitised, this Digital ID function will become more important for passing information within a transaction.

3. Ownership of the Logbook should transfer to a new owner on resale of any property. To this end, Logbooks (if in existence for a property) already have to be listed on the ‘Fittings & Content’ form (TA10) as a digital asset being sold with the property.

4. The Logbook should allow homeowners to continue to upload data and documentation throughout their ownership of the property and to choose when and with whom to share it.

5. The homeowner must have the right to transfer their logbook records between logbook providers. Much as you are now allowed to transfer your phone number between mobile providers, this was intended to ensure a vibrant competitive market for Logbook providers.

6. The UK Government has been particularly concerned with property fraud recently. So, being able to link ownership of a Logbook to the correct property owner in digital systems is key, particularly when dealing with GDPR protected information. In the UK, the RLBA has worked with MHCLG to create a National Register of Logbooks to manage the link between owners and property records. If a Logbook is on the register it is viewed as proof of ownership and can access data on that property on public servers. So NewBuild developers should ensure that they are working with an RLBA registered provider of Logbooks when adopting them. (Chimni’s Logbooks are validated for the RLBA Register).

Does Handover Software Count as a Logbook?

Many of the Logbooks on the market can manage document handover for small developers who may not be using sophisticated systems for sales progression or handover. But in general, Logbooks are viewed as a complementary tool to the sales progression/handover software and company portals that have emerged for the Developer market in the last few years. Broadly, handover software and customer portals are viewed as ‘software run by the developer’. A digital logbook for a property is a ‘digital asset owned and managed by the property owner’.

The key emphasis of the functionality being developed in Logbooks is on helping the homeowner manage their home after sale. However, the two forms of software should work together. Logbooks like Chimni have the ability to integrate with developer portals or handover software to automate Logbook set-up and transfer data/documentation.

As a Home Builder if you are interested in finding out how you can add a digital property logbook to your proposition and get ahead of potential UK legislation please book a demo at meet.shedyt.com

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