HM Land Registry and Ordnance Survey (OS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help transform the property market by enhancing data accessibility and innovation in the housing and geospatial sectors.
It is hoped this will reduce friction for citizens and businesses, boost confidence in property rights and the housing sector, and support government policy and economic growth.
HM Land Registry 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.
The two organisations will work together to ensure strategic alignment, in relation to the OS National Geographic Database and OS Product roadmap and HM Land Registry’s geospatial roadmap and transformation and will share insights and concepts, and exchange knowledge, skills and best practice in areas of shared interest such as licensing, geospatial, compliance; helping to create a consistent public sector standard for commercial models and reuse of data. They will also leverage opportunities for data distribution including making best use of OS’s DataHub to provide HM Land Registry data to market.
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 HM Land Registry, 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."
