GeoPlace has expressed support for a new requirement to include a unique property reference number (UPRN) in the new version of the Buying and Selling Property Information form (BASPI).
This follows the launch of the new form by trade and representative bodies from the legal, surveying, estate agency and property management sectors as part of a wider effort to digitise the home buying process.
UPRNs are unique identifiers for every addressable location in Great Britain that are nationally managed by GeoPlace, a joint venture between the Local Government Association and Ordnance Survey.
It said their inclusion in the BASPI – a form developed as a single source of truth and used by conveyancing professionals to help speed up property transactions – will support the move for information to be shared electronically between all parties involved in conveyancing.
For the first time, it includes the requirement to include a UPRN alongside the address of the property.
Trust framework
Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, commented: “The Conveyancing Association is working with conveyancers and lenders to create a Property Data Trust Framework.
“The Property Data Trust Framework also requires authentication of the provenance of the data, and attaching it to the UPRN will ensure the homeowner and stakeholders involved in the process can access the data they need when they need it whether that is on sale, for re-mortgage, planning application or even retrofit.”
“Attaching the UPRN will ensure the technology providers can create FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, re-usable) data systems and identify which property the data relates to, which is not always easy when just relying on the title number or the property address. After all flat A could also be called ground floor flat.
“The UPRN gets rid of all the uncertainty. It can also link to the ‘parent’ UPRN where the property is leasehold, which of course is key when trying to establish whether a fire safety inspection has been completed on the entire building and therefore there is an EWS1 (fire safety form) for the flat you are dealing with.”
Nick Chapallaz, managing director of GeoPlace commented: "We are delighted to see the progress made over the last year and the inclusion of UPRNs within the BAPSI form. We believe that this will provide the certainty that the conveyancing sector needs in identifying the correct property for sale and purchase.”
He added that GeoPlace has recently become a member of the Conveyancing Information Executive.
The BAPSI has been developed by a working group of the Home Buying and Selling Group.
