First digital resi property transaction trialled

The UK’s first digitised residential property transaction has been successfully trialled, as part of HM Land Registry research. The Land Registry has worked with partners including law firm Mishcon de Reya and Premier Property Lawyers to develop a blockchain prototype to trial how buying and selling a house could work digitally. It took 12 months to develop the technology, and Barclays, Shieldpay and Yoti were also involved in the testing. See also: Land Registry’s digital transformation strategy The project was part of the Land Registry’s Digital Street research and development project, which looks at ways of improving the process of buying a home. Mishcon de Reya real estate technology specialist Nick Kirby said: “We have been working collaboratively with HMLR for around 12 months to help drive strategic thinking around how property transactions could take place in the future and improving the experience for consumers. “That we have now found and implemented a real use case for smart contracts and blockchain in this area takes us from thinking to action, which is hugely exciting.”   To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette