HM Land Registry (HMLR) has unveiled its Strategy 2025+, setting out plans to build a faster, simpler and more transparent property market through automation, data-sharing and better digital services.
The strategy marks the organisation’s most significant transformation in more than two decades. It outlines how new technology – from artificial intelligence and automation to open data and geospatial mapping – will be used to speed up transactions, reduce fraud and improve access to land and property information.
HMLR’s digital overhaul will replace legacy systems still reliant on paper forms and scanned documents. By 2030, it aims to automate many straightforward transactions – such as remortgaging and the sale of registered properties – and by 2035, deliver near-instant updates to the land register using AI-driven systems supported by human oversight. Secure digital identity checks and e-signatures will become standard, helping to make property transactions safer and faster.
A major part of the strategy focuses on unlocking the value of property data. HMLR plans to digitise and standardise millions of records, creating a geospatial digital land register that combines ownership, leasehold, rights of way and environmental data. This will allow planners, developers and lenders to view and analyse information on interactive maps in real time – helping to accelerate housebuilding, infrastructure delivery and clean energy projects.
“Strategy 2025+ represents our commitment to unlock a better, faster and less stressful property market for everyone through improved digital services, enhanced expertise, and customer-centric approaches,” said Iain Banfield, Interim Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar. “This transformation will play a key role in supporting government ambitions – from building new homes and regenerating places, to unlocking clean energy infrastructure and transforming planning.”
The agency is also working with government and industry partners through the Digital Property Market Steering Group and the National Data Library, ensuring property data is findable, accessible and reusable. Examples in the strategy include overlaying ownership information with climate, soil or health data to guide greener investment and better public services.
For customers, the shift will mean easier, more transparent services – from real-time tracking of applications and updates via mobile devices, to automatic alerts for potential property fraud. APIs will allow conveyancers, lenders and other professionals to link directly into HMLR systems, reducing duplication and speeding up exchanges.
HMLR’s people will play a central role in this transformation. A “digital-first” operating model will see all staff develop strong data and digital skills, with training and reskilling supported through the Land Registration Academy. The aim is to build a workforce that blends traditional expertise with new technical capability.