Councils begin signing up for First Homes property lo...

The first councils are finally being signed up to a new logbook partnership between the Residential Logbook Association (RLBA) and the government.

The Government’s First Homes Scheme was announced as the first state-backed initiative to use digital property logbooks last September.

But it has taken almost a year to get the legal documentation amended and now Bristol City Council has become the first local authority to sign up.

The first batch of homes sold under the First Homes Scheme in Bristol have now been added to the RLBA Registration system.

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 year, all legal documentation issued by Government has had to be upgraded to include the contract and GDPR based amendments required to include logbooks in the First Homes scheme. These have all now been published giving the green light to bring more local authorities to come on board.

Simon Lumb of the RLBA added: “We are bringing four more councils on board at the moment as part of our pilot group with another 60 to have come who participated in the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government in early roll out trials.”