LPE1 enquiries to benefit from standardised answers following update to Property Data Trust Framework

The Property Data Trust Framework, a set of open and free-to-use data standards developed collaboratively across the property industry by the Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG), has announced a new update which advances its mission to unlock the potential of digital conveyancing.

This latest update allows answers to Leasehold Property Enquiries (LPE1) to be represented in a standard way, so key enquiries made of the Managing Agents of leasehold properties can be captured and shared in a way understandable by everyone.

The new, revised LPE1 form coincided with lenders changing their policies to be able to lend on properties in remediation schemes, or those covered by leaseholder protections earlier in the year.

Other bodies alongside the Conveyancing Association, such as  the Society of Licenced Conveyancers as well as ARHM, BPF, The Property Institute (TPI), RTMF, RICS and Propertymark are encouraging their member firms to use the new version of the LPE1.

Having reached the public launch v1.0 milestone in December 2022, the framework continues to evolve to support more and more elements of property data to facilitate frictionless exchange of data between all stakeholders.

More progress is planned for the coming months, as updates to the BASPI dataset and the announcement of the National Trading Standards Material Upfront Information parts B and C are expected.

Beth Rudolf, Director of Delivery at the Conveyancing Association, commented: “This is a further step in the ongoing journey towards full digital conveyancing and we at the CA are incredibly supportive of all the work that is going into this, particularly through the HBSG and the Property Data Trust Framework. Standardisation leads not just to a greater understanding but also speeds up the process around LPE1 enquiries, which follows on from the new version of the LPE1 form that was launched at the beginning of this year. As an industry, if we continue to work collaboratively and provide answers to these questions, then we have high hopes for improving the home buying and selling process for all home movers and stakeholders.”

Maria Harris, Director, Digital Cat Consultancy, added: “I’m grateful as always to our volunteer participants who commit their own time and resources to keeping the schema updated. The forms and data used across our industry are changing constantly which makes their support even more important.”