The Intermediary – October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 24
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
Could every home
have its own
digital history?
I
f you were buying a secondhand car today from a
reputable dealer, you would
expect to know quite a lot
about its history. Mileage,
MOT history, number of
previous owners, outstanding finance,
the and insurance records can all
form part of the checks available.
Yet when buying a property that
may be 50, 100 or even 200 years old,
obtaining a similarly useful history
can be considerably harder. Relevant
details may sit across different
records, organisations and systems,
oen brought together only for
the transaction taking place at that
point in time.
That feels particularly relevant
given the focus on upfront property
information. The Government’s June
2026 homebuying reform roadmap
points towards digital property
logbooks and sales packs becoming
standard features of the process, with
logbooks potentially having a wider
role beyond buying and selling.
The current used car market offers
an indication of where that thinking
could lead. Vehicle history services
show how information accumulated
over many years and different owners
can create a useful history of an asset.
There are already signs in other
parts of Europe, where governmentbacked free digital property passports
are bringing together available
certificates and information such as
energy performance, inspections and
planning data. Owners can also add
records of energy-related renovation
works, allowing the record to develop
over time. These are by no mean
perfect, but progress is being made.
A digital property history in the UK
could include verified information on
title, planning permissions, building
regulations, guarantees, alterations
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The Intermediary | October 2026
and energy performance, alongside
records from previous transactions.
Rather than being assembled
for one sale, it could develop as the
property changes hands, is altered
or refinanced.
That could give sellers and buyers a
clearer understanding of the property,
while providing lenders, conveyancers
and valuers with greater context. The
opportunity is therefore broader than
creating a more comprehensive sales
pack at the start of each transaction.
Security and quality
There are substantial questions
to answer. Data would need clear
provenance, appropriate permissions
and a reliable way of establishing
whether it remained current, while
security, access and liability would
require careful consideration.
Responses to the Government’s
Digital history: Lessons from the used vehicle market
consultation have already highlighted
data security as a concern.
Some foundations are emerging.
The Open Property Data Association’s
(OPDA) Property Data Trust
Framework is designed to support the
secure use and reuse of authenticated
property information through
common standards and agreed
processes. But creating the record is
only part of the answer.
A property history has limited
value if it sits separately from the
transaction. The bigger opportunity is
ANDREW VAUGHAN
is head of customer
management at e4 Strategic
There are already
signs in other parts
of Europe, where
government-backed free
digital property passports
are bringing together
available certificates and
information”
to make trusted data accessible when
it is needed, particularly during the
post-offer stage where activity can still
be fragmented across multiple systems
and communication channels.
Connecting that data with the
systems used during a live case
could reduce the need to re-establish
facts already known, and allow
professionals to concentrate on issues
that genuinely require their aention.
Achieving that will require industry
collaboration and technology that
works with existing infrastructure,
rather than creating another
standalone destination.
Upfront information may be the
starting point, but its real value
will come from what happens next.
Connecting it across the transaction
could ultimately turn a collection
of property data into a digital
history that remains useful long
aer completion. ●
