WIREDGOV

On the eve of its annual conference, GeoPlace welcomes a new initiative from the the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Etive. The HBF and Etive are pleased to see the variety of members starting to implement the new customer identity verification (IDV) and anti-money laundering (AML) standards, either on their own or with the assistance of their panel conveyancers and brokers.

The MyIdentity Overlay Scheme has developed additional rules on top of those already in the DIATF to better meet the specific customer service and business needs of new home builders.

One of the new data sets for customer IDV is the use of the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN), which is provided by the MyIdentity scheme. The UPRN is a unique identifier for every property in the country. By linking a certified customer’s identity to the property’s UPRN, the sales process can be made more secure and streamlined. Many mortgage lenders require a UPRN in order to provide a mortgage, so including this information can speed up the mortgage lending process. The UPRN can also be used by builders to link services, such as utilities, and other data, like an EPC, to the property.

Richard Duffield, Head of Customer Insights at GeoPlace says; “As a partnership between Local Government and Ordnance Survey, GeoPlace helps government and the private sector make the best use of property level address data - which includes the definitive UPRN. The UPRN is a nationally managed unique identifier for every property and is the key to sharing, linking and analysing data for better decisions and understanding property through its entire lifecycle from planning application to demolition. Read more about how Property developers hold the digital keys to the homes, services and lives we need to build.

As each new home comes on the market, it will have a UPRN included in its Property Log Book, which will act as the glue between the property, the UPRN and the certified buyer’s identity. This will make it easier for builders to convey the property, as the UPRN can be used by many mortgage lenders to facilitate the mortgage lending process. This will also help to reduce errors associated with wrong property address information, increase the barriers to fraud, help those properties being sold off-plan, and help new owners when they come to sell again in the future.

Steve Turner, Executive Director of the HBF said “We continue to make good progress to develop a set of standards for house builders to prove a customers identity digitally. The work aims to create a new process that will improve the customer experience in a way that is workable for industry and that aligns with emerging Government legislation and standards. We now have a large number of members signed up that is really helping to ensure that the scheme develops in a way that is workable for companies of all sizes. We are encouraging all members to engage in the process and to ensure they are aware of and prepared for implementation of the impending requirements.”

This further demonstrates the efforts being made to enhance the customer experience when purchasing a new home and to improve the overall home buying journey.

For more details on the standards contact Stuart Young at s.young@myidentity.org.uk