Bristol City Council, has become the first user of the Residential Logbook Association’s (RLBA) new First Homes Logbook and local authority reporting system.
The logbook has been developed by the RLBA trade association to support the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s First Homes scheme for first time buyers.
The initiative is government’s first use of digital property logbooks, an online service providing a secure and standardised approach to capturing all useful information about a home.
It aims to give all buyers under the First Home scheme a logbook that connects to their local authority, their mortgage lender and the RLBA’s reporting systems.
First Homes is intended to help local people buy new homes being developed in their area at significantly discounted rates. Councils ensure that up to 20% of any eligible development is offered for sale through the First Homes scheme and Section 106 restrictions provide the protections for maintaining the property within the scheme for future purchasers.
The local authorities have the task of matching buyers to developments and monitoring the affordable housing status of the property throughout its lifetime. This requires involvement with developers who work with the RLBA to complete and issue the logbooks for each new home sold under the scheme.
First collaboration
Simon Lumb of the RLBA said: “The First Homes initiative is an important first collaboration between MHCLG, local authorities and the logbook community. But it has much wider implications. The platform the RLBA has created can be used by local authorities to support all Help to Buy programmes including shared ownership.”
The initiative is based around a First Homes logbook created by the RLBA, which sits on the organisation’s own infrastructure, rather than that of any member company. The logbooks are configured so that they can report development status to the local authority and flag up if the property is put on the rental or sales markets in the future.
Developers looking to participate in the scheme work with the RLBA to create the logbooks for any given development. They are encouraged to use RLBA registered logbooks from member companies for the other units in any development.
Bristol City Council has been an early trialist of DLUCH’s logbook initiative. The first batch of homes sold under the First Homes Scheme in Bristol have now been added to the RLBA Registration system.
Two key features
Julie Curtis of Bristol City Council said: “Two features of the RLBA initiative were key for us. We have a statutory duty to protect the integrity of the First Homes scheme over the lifetime of the properties as they pass from owner to owner. So the ability to monitor the programme via the logbooks over time is crucial.
“Secondly, the early flagging of when a property is put on the rental market or being sold is important to ensure that future ownership stays with local, deserving applicants.”
Since the RLBA scheme was announced in September last year, all legal documentation issued by Government has had to be upgraded to include the contract and General Data Protection Regulation amendments required to include logbooks in the scheme. The RLBA said these have all now been published, giving the green light to bring more local authorities onboard.
Lumb said: “We are bringing four more councils onboard at the moment as part of our pilot group with another 60 to have come who participated in MHCLG’s early roll out trials.”
