A new collaboration between HM Land Registry (HMLR) and Ordnance Survey (OS) will help transform the property market by enhancing data accessibility and innovation in the housing and geospatial sectors. This will reduce friction for citizens and businesses, boost confidence in property rights and the housing sector, and support government policy and economic growth.
HMLR has been at the heart of property market transactions in England and Wales for over 160 years, keeping the official records of who owns land. As the market evolves, HMLR wants to make its data easier to access and use, and connect with other property market data. It aims to transition from simply being a custodian of data to actively using that data to enable a better‑functioning property market.
OS is integral to the land registration process, tracking new housing developments and surveying building footprints, providing the most up to date data when new homes are being registered. Its data is used by over 4,500 case workers every day to maintain the Title (Land) Register and is used to visualise general boundaries on all Land Registry Title Plans.
Now the two long-standing organisations, which have a common ambition to unlock the value of land and location data, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This will help shape a more connected, digitally enabled property market over the next three years.
As part of its ongoing digital transformation journey, HMLR launched Strategy 2025+ last year, committing to making property services “better, faster and less stressful”. The new initiative with OS is the next step in that transformation. OS is well-placed to support, having been through its own digital transformation in recent years, delivering more data into the hands of more organisations to support better decision-making.
Tina Kennedy, chief customer officer at OS, welcomed the collaboration: “A more efficient property market is vital to the UK economy. It helps people move home more easily, supports development and investment, and underpins one of the most significant assets many people own. This is an invaluable opportunity to work closely with HM Land Registry to deliver value to government, homebuyers and developers. Our trusted data has always been integral to the land registration process, so we are delighted to be collaborating with HMLR to further improve data accessibility across government and strengthen connectivity between departments across the housing market.”
Lynne Nicholson, deputy director for data and head of data group at HMLR, said: “We have exciting plans to transition from traditional record keeping to actively fuelling economic growth and unlocking new opportunities across the housing sector. I am looking forward to working closely with Ordnance Survey colleagues to share insights and ideas and build a shared vision for trusted data that will make a real difference for all of our customers.”
The collaboration supports the 2024-2026 government’s strategic plan to enable the delivery of 1.5m new homes across England in the current parliament, alongside continued work to support the regeneration of communities. It also supports a strong property market, which plays an important part in the nation’s economy and prosperity. In England and Wales, properties are valued at nearly £9trn, making up over half of the nation’s wealth, with around £1.66trn of lending secured against it. The UK has one of the world’s largest property markets with annual sales surpassing £360bn.
Other benefits to a more efficient land registration process include more efficient environmental planning, minimising fraud in duplicating property titles and using HMLR and OS data to identify property insurance risk based on the geographical spread and ownership of portfolios.
