Property professionals have been urged to start testing digital home-moving processes now rather than waiting for new requirements to become mandatory.
Industry representatives speaking at a webinar hosted by LMS’s National Property Transaction Network (NPTN) said early participation could help firms influence the shape of future regulation while also improving transaction efficiency in the short term.
The discussion followed the government’s recent property reform roadmap and comes ahead of the 1 October deadline for responses to the cross-sector Smart Data call for evidence.
The government’s first Smart Data Schemes are expected to be operational by 2030, but speakers argued that work around material information, sales packs and greater digitisation of the transaction process is likely to accelerate well before then.
EARLY INVOLVEMENT
Maria Harris, chair of the Open Property Data Association, said involvement from those working directly in property transactions would be important in determining how reforms operate in practice.
She said: “A huge amount of input into getting these things right is having frontline business and operational people in the room, so that we can shape any proposals around real transactions and what obstacles are actually holding them up.”
The panel suggested that firms adopting digital processes ahead of any formal mandate could reduce duplicated work, shorten transaction times and spend less time chasing information.
They also argued that businesses already testing new systems would be better placed to provide evidence to policymakers as future requirements are developed.
Leon Ifayemi, director of coalitions and research at CFIT, said lessons could be taken from the introduction of Open Banking.
He said: “We don’t want a world where change is forced through at the last minute, at far greater cost to everyone involved.”
INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
The webinar, Property Market Reform: Making Sense of the Moving Parts, brought together Harris and Ifayemi with Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association. It was hosted by Travis Scholes, commercial director at LMS.
More than 180 property professionals attended, with the session examining the roles of organisations involved in smart data reforms and the practical implications for the home-moving process.
Rudolf said the government reform programme presented an opportunity for the property sector to test potential solutions before legislation was introduced.
She said: “Talk to us, we need to know from you what you need […] engage early and come and try things now.
“This is the government’s opportunity to see the solutions develop to deliver the maximum benefits before they legislate; so get involved and make sure any unintended consequences are sorted before it becomes law.”
