A note today from HM Land Registry indicates the government agency is investigating the use of blockchain for managing lan registration and the overall buying and selling process of property. More specifically, the agency is working with “Methods” a company that utilizes R3’s blockchain Corda.
“Our ambition to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, ease of use and an open approach to data requires HM Land Registry to be at the forefront of global innovation in land registration,” commented Graham Farrant, Chief Executive of HM Land Registry. “By working with Methods on Digital Street we are taking another step toward that goal, as we explore how new technologies like blockchain can help us to develop a faster, simpler and cheaper land registration process.”
HM Land Registry’s ambition is to be at the forefront of innovation by exploring how land registration and conveyancing can be made easier. Digital Street is HM Land Registry’s research and development project designed to make buying and selling property simpler, quicker and cheaper through the innovative use of technology. HM Treasury currently oversees land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages.
The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for more than 85% of the land mass of England and Wales.
This is a big deal for R3 – a distributed ledger tech firm that has had a few stumbles.
David Rutter, CEO of R3, said they are pleased to be working with HM Land Registry:
“Blockchain holds the potential to transform land registry services by improving speed, simplicity and efficiency. We will be working closely with HM Land Registry, Methods and our partners over the coming months to turn this potential into reality.”